Forced into Love
by Hopelessly Pessimistic
Summary: As the people in the wizarding world fight for there place in the world, the Ministry comes up with a plan to unite the muggleborns and purebloods. The Marriage of Hermione Granger and Lucius Malfoy and the Minister will do anything to make sure it happen
1. Prologue

_**Forced into Love**_

_**Prologue**_

It was perfect. Her dress was perfect. Her make-up perfect. Even her damn shoes were perfect. Everything was perfect except for the man. The weather was perfect, sunny with only a few clouds in the sky. The one day England decided against rain was the day she wanted to do nothing more then cry herself. She was wearing the most beautiful dress she had ever seen but she couldn't bring herself to care. She was the image of the perfect bride and she couldn't be more disgusted with herself because of it.

She had allowed this to happen. She had allowed him to talk her into marrying a man who looked down upon her. She had allowed herself to be condemned to a fate that she had never wanted. She had allowed this to happen and she hated herself for that.

"You look beautiful." A voice said from the doorway. She turned around to see Harry leaning against the doorway giving her the best attempt of a smile he could. He didn't understand why she was doing this, she didn't think he ever would, but he was doing his best to be supportive, just like any good friend should.

"Thank you." She said with a shaky smile, "You don't look too bad yourself."

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Of course I am." She said, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because your about to walk down the aisle to your doom." He said.

"Don't be overly dramatic Harry." She said moving over to the vanity that Ginny had done her make-up at what seemed like hours ago.

"I don't think I'm being dramatic, I think I'm being truthful." He said, "Hermione we all know what he's capable of."

"He's not Voldemort Harry." She said defensively.

"But he's no saint either. His wife left him because she almost died Hermione, do you really want the same thing to happen to you?"

"That was different and you know it." She said, "That was a different time, things have changed since then, you know that."

"All I know is that the Hermione Granger I know would fight this. She would not walk down that aisle willingly, no matter what the cost."

"Don't, don't do it Harry." She said, "If you give me a chance to back out then I'll want to take it. And I'll curse myself for not taking it every time the marriage becomes too hard handle. So don't Harry. Just don't."

"Hermione…"

"The weddings going to start soon." She told him, "You should go take your seat." She turned back to the mirror, pretending to smooth out folds that both knew weren't there. She heard him pause in the doorway and she knew that he was watching her, trying to think of something, anything, to keep her from doing this but a moment later she heard him continue. She waited until she could no longer hear his footsteps before she let the first teardrop fall.


	2. Chapter One

_**Chapter One:**_

Hermione weaved her way out of the lift and onto the floor. She had received a letter the night before 'requesting' her presence at the Minister's office at three o'clock. She didn't know what the meeting was about but she knew from the way that the letter was worded that it wasn't a request it was demand. And she knew by now that it was never good to against what the Minister demanded.

"May I help you?" the minister's secretary asked. She was young and blonde; everything that the Minister would want in a secretary and Hermione had to fight the urge to roll her eyes at the predictability of it all.

"Yes, I'm here for a meeting with the Minister." She said.

"Your name?" the secretary asked in a bored tone.

"Hermione Granger." 

"Oh!" she said her heading snapping up in recognition, "Yes well, everyone's here already…I'll just show you in."

"What do you mean everyone?" Hermione asked following her to the large doors leading to the Minister's office on the other side of the room.

"You'll find out." She said with a giggle. She opened the door announcing Hermione's presence before ushering her in. Hermione didn't even have the chance to run.

As she entered the office all three men turned to look at her, the Minister with a large smile on his face, Draco Malfoy with a scowl on his, and Lucius Malfoy looking her up and down as if he had never seen her before. Apparently this meeting was not for her alone.

Draco and Lucius had both managed to escape the war relatively unscathed, changing sides after Narcissa had been attacked because of something that they had done. She had left Lucius soon after that, not wanting to be part of anything else involving the Dark Lord. As far as she knew, no one had heard from her since. Lucius and Draco had become full fledge members of the Order but it hadn't changed either of their opinions about muggleborns or blood status. In fact they had taken care not to interact with many of the other Order members, still believing that they were better then everyone else. They mostly talked with Snape and Dumbledore, occasionally speaking up in Order meetings but only when absolutely necessary. Usually they just sat there, an impassive look on there faces, as if they didn't care what happened to them. They had given a lot information to the Order, and if Hermione really thought about it they did owe a great deal to them, but that didn't make her think any better of them. They had only changed sides because it was necessary, because they knew that Voldemort was loosing, that he had lied to them when he said they would be safe. If Voldemort had never attacked Narcissa then most likely they would have stayed on that side. Who knows where they would be now.

"Good Miss Granger, I almost thought that you weren't coming." Minister Trimble told her, his normal fake smile on his face.

"I wasn't aware I had much of a choice in the matter." She said giving him a fake smile of her own.

"Yes well, I'm very glad you can make it. Please take a seat." He said gesturing towards the seat next to Lucius, completely ignoring her statement. "I suppose all of you are wondering why you are here." He said. Hermione nodded her head but chose to stay quiet. The minister had a habit of saying things that made her angry; she had learned the hard way that it was best to stay as silent as possible when in his presence. She and the minister did not have the best of past relationships.

"I did assume that there was a reason behind this meeting." Lucius said calmly.

"As you both know, lately there has been some uproar in the community."

"It is awfully hard to miss, Minister." Hermione said. Uproar really was an understatement. It was more like a constant fight. The muggleborns and half-bloods were constantly claiming to be looked down upon because of who they were, and the purebloods claiming that they deserved special treatment because of their families and who they were. Just because Voldemort had been defeated didn't mean that the world was an instantly happy place. Before it had been easy enough, you were either against Voldemort or you were for him, there was no in-between. Now you never know what a person believed in.

"Yes well, I have come up with a course of action that may help the situation." Minister Trimble said. He had that smile again, the one she recognized as one when he thought he had done something an extremely smart. Normally it meant that he was about to do something very stupid.

"Something involving the three of us?" Hermione asked.

"Only two of you actually." He said, "You and Mr. Malfoy to be exact. Young Mr. Malfoy is only here to serve as a witness. I figured Mr. Malfoy would prefer that this be kept in the family, you as well Miss Granger."

"What do you mean…"

"This will hopefully help the relationship between the purebloods and the muggleborns." Hermione didn't like where he was going with this and it appeared as if Lucius didn't either. He was setting up straighter and his presence had changed from relaxed and emotionless, to alert and intimidating.

"We would like the two of you two to marry." Hermione choked on the air around her.

"What?" She asked. She didn't look at Lucius but she was sure that he was as unhappy and shocked as she was over this.

"It only makes sense." He continued ignoring their reactions completely. "The two of you are well known public figures because of the war and your roles in it. It only seems natural."

"In what universe?" Hermione asked.

"Miss Granger…"

"Minister Trimble, I am…flattered in a sick way but I am already in a relationship."

"Yeah, I'm sure you, Potter, and Weasel will all be real happy together." Draco muttered.

"Oliver and I are in a committed relationship." She said shooting him a nasty look, "And if I was to marry anyone it would be him, not Mr. Malfoy who I hardly know."

"I'm inclined to agree with Miss Granger." Lucius said, finally speaking up. "While I believe I understand what you are trying to do, Miss Granger and I are only acquaintances. I think marriage would be out of the question."

"I understand, however you are looking at the faults, not the possibilities." Minster Trimble said.

"And those possibilities would be what exactly? You get your name in the paper?" Hermione asked.

"Of course not, I would be hardly in the article." He said, "But seeing the two of you, two very well established war heroes, Harry Potter's Muggleborn best friend and Lucius Malfoy perhaps the best known pureblood of the time, wed would make a significant impact on the wizarding community." Hermione watched as he leaned back into his chair, that infuriating smile back on his face. She wanted nothing more then to slap it off of him.

"And what makes you think that we would have any interest in this?" she asked her voice dangerously calm, "That we would agree to it?"

"Because as Minister of Magic, I could make both of your lives very difficult." He said the smile never dropping from his face. "If I have my information correctly you have applied for several positions at the Ministry, as long with your boyfriend Mr. Wood. I would hate for you not to have enough money to pay your rent for that flat of yours."

"I can always find employment elsewhere." She said drawing herself up to her full height in her chair.

"You'll find that as Minister of Magic I have quite a lot of pull. I'm afraid that if you refuse you might quickly find that employment will be much harder to find. And if that's not enough incentive for you, I'll let you in on a little secret. The Daily Prophet does what I tell them, runs the stories I want them to. You wouldn't want some of your and your friends little…adventures to get out, now would we?"

"You are a retched little man." She said unable to stop herself.

"That may be true Miss Granger; however I am still the man that can destroy your life." Hermione chose to stay quiet knowing anything she might say would only get her further into trouble.

"Unlike Miss Granger, I do not need your employment, nor can I be threatened for lack of money, therefore I believe you will have to find someone else." Lucius said. He too was trying to remain calm.

"I wouldn't be so hasty Mr. Malfoy." He said, "I think we all know what is on your forearm, one would hate for that to get leaked to the press, or Wizengamot for that matter." Lucius narrowed his eyes but said nothing. It was obvious that the Minister had them both in the position that he wanted them. They could refuse, they go to Dumbledore but the damage would already be done. The Minister would get what he wanted one way or another.

"What would…what would this _plan_ consist of?" Hermione asked quietly.

"It would be simple enough. We would announce your engagement to the Daily Prophet where they would do an article announcing to the world that even the two unlikeliest of people could make a marriage like this work." He explained, "The two of you will have a large wedding, many people of different…backgrounds would be invited. It would be an extremely large step for the wizarding world."

"But wouldn't it just be contradicted when we got a divorce?" Hermione asked.

"Divorce? I'm afraid I don't know what you mean."

"Well surely you don't expect us to stay married forever." She said.

"Of course not." He said, "You would discreetly file for divorce when we feel that this subject has calmed down. I would say it shouldn't be more then ten years."

"Ten years?" Draco sputtered, "Ten years of…._that_ being in our family."

"Five years." Hermione said causing all three men to look at her. "We marry for five years, with no public demonstrations of anything other then happiness and civility and then for the next year we lay the ground work for divorce. Distancing ourselves from each other, possibly the occasional public spat. Nothing major, just enough so that no one is surprised when we separate six months later and then file for divorce. As you said it will be done quietly, as I will have already signed a prenuptial agreement, but the marriage will only last six years. And there will be an added clause stating that after we have done this I can not be blacklisted by you or any other Ministry employee or future Minister. And that Mr. Malfoy can not be charged for any previous crimes that would have occurred before we made this arrangement."

Lucius shifted beside her so that he could have a better look at her. She appeared perfectly calm, yet determined. She had managed to create a plan that would suit everyone's needs while he was still determining the best way to get rid of the Minister, something he had wanted to do for a long time now. She may not be the woman he would choose to marry but at least this way they would be marrying under their terms, not the Minister's.

"That could be arranged." The Minister said eyeing her carefully. He pulled a piece of parchment from one of his many drawers before waving his wand over it. He looked over it quickly before handing it to Hermione. It was a contract that both she and Lucius were to sign, saying that they agreed to be married for six years and not a day less, that they would never speak of this with anyone else, and that they wouldn't press charges with him at anytime.

"This can't possibly be legal." Hermione said.

"I assure you it is." He said, "It's much like a wizarding oath. Once you sign that your bound to it, whether anyone else know about it or not." His grin had grown even wider.

"There are few things that need revised." Lucius said right next to her making her jump, he was so close she could feel his breath tickling her arm. She hadn't even noticed him leaning over to read the paper.

"For one" he said taking the paper out of her hand, "Not speaking of this to everyone else will be changed to the press or anyone who will go to the press. People close to us certainly wouldn't understand us suddenly getting married; we'd have to explain to at least a few. And the contract would have to change that we wouldn't be able to charge you or the ministry about things involving this marriage in particular."

"All of which can be changed." The minister said waving his wand as the words began to rearrange themselves.

"Now, if you would please sign."

Lucius signed first, not even looking at Hermione as he did so. Hermione signed next, completely silent and calm on the outside but raging on the inside. As far as she was concerned she had just signed her life away to the devil. For the next six years she would be a Malfoy and now even Harry couldn't save her from that.

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The minister didn't even escort them from his office, instead just waving them off telling them they he expected to see them both next Thursday to continue discussing this and to prepare to talk with the press. Hermione had agreed in a daze, she was still in shock and she knew it. Eventually when she was alone, this was all going to hit her and she was going to realize just what she had gotten herself into. She just hoped that when it did hit her, it wouldn't be in front of the Malfoy's.

"We should go see Dumbledore." She said causing both men to look at her, "That way he can handle telling the Order members that we don't wish to tell ourselves. Otherwise when this hits the papers you might be getting a few unexpected visits."

"Very well." He said. "If you'll excuse me I'd like to speak with my son for a moment."

"I'll wait for you in the Floo room." She said, "I'm not really feeling up to a long walk right now." She didn't wait for an answer instead she turned and headed towards the room without looking back.

"Draco perhaps you should go home." Lucius said turning towards him.

"Why?" Draco asked.

"Draco this has already been a tiring morning. I think it will be easier for all of us if it is just Miss Granger and I when we see Dumbledore."

"Are you really going to marry her father?" Draco asked.

"It would seem I have no other choice." Lucius said.

"That's not an answer father."

"As much as I dislike having my life planned out by someone else but there could always be advantages."

"What advantages could there possibly be to having Granger as part of our family?"

"It has been a long time since we have had a woman in the house." Lucius said.

"There's a large difference between a woman and Granger." Draco said.

"Will see what happens. Go back to the manor Draco; I'll meet you there when we're done."

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Lucius flooed to the headmaster's office, barely even looking at Hermione, not that she minded. They had both remained silent as they stood in line waiting for their turn, they would have the next six years to talk, talking now didn't seem so important. Lucius, always graceful, came through the fire with not even a little soot on his clothing. Hermione had never been the lucky and stumbled out of the fireplace and right into his arms. His arms were around her waist and her head was only inches from his chest. She felt her cheeks flare as she quickly stepped away. She muttered a quiet thank you, looking away from him to the others in the room. Dumbledore and Professor Snape were both standing by the desk, looking at them curiously.

"Miss Granger, Mr. Malfoy." Dumbledore said, "This is certainly a surprise."

"Hello Headmaster, Professor Snape." Hermione said quietly.

"Perhaps I should leave." Severus said looking over them carefully.

"I have no problem with your presence unless Miss Granger has any objections." Lucius said, "I was going to come see you when we were done with this meeting anyways."

"Of course not," Hermione said, "He'll find out eventually anyways."

"Then please everyone, set down." Dumbledore told them gesturing to the chairs in front of his desk. Hermione took the chair across from the Headmaster, Lucius on one side of her and Professor Snape on the other. "Would anyone care for some tea or possibly something to eat?"

"I'm not very hungry." Hermione said, "However some tea would be nice."

"Of course." He said. With a wave of his wand a cup of tea was hovering in front of each of them.

"Thank you headmaster." She said.

"Of course, Miss Granger. Now what can I do for the two of you today?" he asked, "I must admit that it is rather surprising to find the two of you here together."

"It's rather simple actually." Hermione said taking a sip of her tea calmly, "We're here to announce are engagement." Snape choked on his tea beside her, unable to hide his reaction, and the headmaster knocked over the bowl of lemon drops he was going to offer them.

"Was it something I said?" she asked looking at them both innocently. Lucius smirked at her, a silent approval of how she told them, as Dumbledore and Snape looked on practically gaping. ****

"I beg your pardon Miss Granger, what did you just say?" Dumbledore asked.

"I'm afraid you heard Miss Granger correctly the first time." Lucius said, "We just came from the Minister's office where he made this decision for us."

"What do you mean he made the decision for you?" Severus asked.

"Do you really think that we would have chosen each other to marry on our own?" Hermione asked looking at him.

"No I wouldn't think so." He said.

"The Minister has a new brilliant plan to unite the purebloods and muggleborns." She explained turning back to Dumbledore.

"In other words he believes that a public and well known marriage between the two of you would change others opinions about what is and is not appropriate social behavior." Dumbledore said.

"Precisely." Lucius said.

"But he hasn't thought the plan through at all." Hermione said placing her cup down harder then attended on the desk, "The only people it would affect are the people who already believe this is alright in the first place. Everyone else will believe that I'm marrying him for his status or his money and that he's marrying me because of my age or my reputation as Harry's best friend. He'll be looked down upon for marrying a Muggleborn and I'll be looked upon as nothing more then a gold-digger or worse a sellout."

"Now Miss Granger, you are taking a rather pessimistic view of this." Dumbledore said.

"Instead of the optimistic one I should have after having my husband picked out for me?" she replied, "Then I should ask for your forgiveness for the lack of enthusiasm that I'm showing." Hermione could feel her anger bubble up to the surface. She had been forcing it to the back of her mind knowing that it would not be good to start an argument with the Minister of Magic; however she knew she wouldn't be able to fight her anger much longer.

"I should be going." She said taking a deep breath. "Mr. Malfoy should be able to fill you in on everything else." She stood her hand slightly shaking as she reached for her coat on the side of her chair.

"Miss Granger." Lucius said standing up as well. "We have a few things to discuss ourselves, perhaps we should meet for dinner tomorrow."

"Of course." She said forcing a small smile on her face.

"Severus was planning to come for dinner tomorrow night as well." He said, "If it's acceptable to you both you could travel with him. The Manor's wards won't recognize you yet."

"That sounds fine." She said quietly. Honestly she would have agreed to most anything right now as long as it got her out of the room.

"Meet me at my office at six thirty." Severus said standing up.

"Fine." She said. "Goodbye Headmaster, Professor Snape, Mr. Malfoy." She said turning to leave. She didn't wait to hear their goodbyes.

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Hermione made her way slowly down the hallway. She could hear the portraits whispering around her, probably about her but she couldn't bring herself to really care. Everything that had been discussed in the Minister's office was crashing down on her. She felt like she was suffocating. She quickly felt her way to a classroom hoping that it was empty. She locked the door behind her before sliding down to the floor. What had she gotten herself into?

She had agreed to marry Lucius Malfoy. She agreed to marry him for six years. Six years of calling him her husband, six years of living in the same house, six years of sharing his bed. She choked on the air around her. She would have to sleep with him. It was part of magical marriage; you weren't really married unless you consummated the marriage within the first week. The room seemed to be getting smaller around her as she tried to control her breathing. She didn't know if she could handle this. She would be living in that house; she would have to see him each day. She didn't even know him, not like you should know the man you're marrying, and the little that she did know about him wasn't good.

Hermione remembered meeting him when she was twelve at the book shop, he had never said anything bad to her but it was the look in his eyes. He thought he was superior to her. He thought that he was better then her just because of who her parents were. He hadn't been the first person to look down at her and he certainly wasn't the last but the day had been engraved in her memory all these years. And she knew for a fact his opinion of her hadn't changed. He may respect her more as she grew up, saw how powerful she was, but he didn't think of her differently. He didn't think her any better. To him she was and always would be a filthy mudblood. Marriage wouldn't change that.


	3. Chapter Two

_**Chapter Two**_

Hermione took a deep breath before knocking on the door. Normally she just apparated in, Oliver had told her a long time ago that he didn't mind, but she didn't feel like it was right just to pop in there anymore, not when she was there to tell him something like this.

The door opened to reveal Oliver clad in muggle attire, they had plans to go to a muggle park tonight, it had been her idea and it broke her heart to see him there ready for it. "Hey there, I was wondering if you weren't going to make it." he said pulling her in for a kiss, "What are you using the door for?"

"I just thought it might be better to knock." She said forcing a smile.

"Why?"

"Oliver…we need to talk."

"About what?" he asked his eyebrows rising suspiciously.

"Something neither of us is going to like." She said sitting down on the couch.

"What do mean?" he asked taking the seat next to her.

"You remember the meeting I had with the Minister this morning?" She asked.

"Yeah, you said something about it last night," He said, "But you said you didn't know what it was about."

"I didn't, until I went to the meeting today." She told him.

"And…" he encouraged her.

"And I don't know quite how to explain this." She said looking up at him.

"Then let me guess." He said, "He offered you a job."

"No."

"He's having you arrested." He suggested with a laugh.

"He might as well as." She said quietly.

"What do you mean?" he asked

"When I got there, it was just me he had asked come. Lucius Malfoy was there as well."

"What did he want with the two of you?" he asked.

"He sort of….He blackmailed us into signing a marriage contract." She said quickly, avoiding looking him in the eye.

"_What_?" he asked rising from his seat.

"Oliver I'm sorry—"

"You're sorry. Hermione you agreed to marry a man when you were dating me. You agreed to marry Lucius Malfoy of all people."

"I couldn't _not_ agree Oliver." She said.

"If you wanted to get out of this you could have." He said angrily, "Your Hermione Granger, your smart enough to talk your way out of any situation."

"Do you think I want this?" she asked her voice rising, "Do you really think I want to be married to that man? I didn't have a choice. I didn't have any choice in this, if I told him no the Minister would have made all of are lives a living hell, including yours. I did this so that wouldn't happen; I did this because there was no other option."

"I don't know what you expect from me Hermione." He said, "I don't know what you want."

"I want you to say that everything will be okay." She said fighting back tears, "I want you to say that I didn't sign my life away when I signed those papers. I wanted you to think of _me_ for once instead of yourself."

"Hermione, I love you, you know I love you." He said, "But I can't do this. I can't set there and watch you marry him. The minute you agreed to marry him, you ended this relationship, this friendship." Hermione reeled back as if he had struck her. It would have hurt less if he had.

"What did you expect Hermione, that you could marry him and continue to date me? It doesn't work like that."

"I didn't….I don't know what I expected." She told him honestly, "I just thought that you deserved to know. Now that you do I'll be leaving."

"Hermione…"

"Goodbye Oliver." She said before disapparating out. She had no intentions on coming back. She didn't think he'd want her there even if she did.

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The tears she had kept Oliver from seeing were flowing freely as she walked towards Harry and Ron's flat. She had apparated close by their flat to enable her a few minutes to calm herself down before she saw them, but it wasn't doing much good. In fact she had only managed to work herself into a deeper hysteria as she thought about everything that was happening.

People were staring at her, casting her pitying looks as she choked out sob after sob, but she paid no attention. She knew they couldn't help her. She knew what she had to do. She knew what was going to happen, whether she wanted it to or not. And no matter how she tried to be positive, no matter how much she told herself that everything was going to be okay. She couldn't bring herself to believe it.

Visions of Lucius and all the horrible things that she knew he had done kept replaying in her head. The stories that Moody used to tell at Order meetings about what he had done in his past. The years of Draco taunting her. The superior look in Lucius' eyes whenever he looked at her. The things Sirius used to tell them about what purebloods like the Black's and Malfoy's did. She didn't want to marry into that. She didn't want to have to fear her husband. She didn't want her husband to hate her, or anyone like her. She wanted to marry for love. She wanted to marry someone with her same interests. Someone she had things in common with. Someone she knew would keep her safe. And that certainly wasn't him.

Hermione wiped at her eyes, taking another deep breath. Somehow through the tears and misery she had somehow made it to the door of Harry and Ron's flat. She knocked gently on the door at first, but when no one came she found herself knocking rapidly, afraid that no one was home. "Answer the door, answer the door. Please somebody answer the door." She whispered.

The door opened revealing a pajama clad Ron looking down at her. "Hermione what—" He stopped mid-sentence, seeing her tears and panicked expression. He quickly ushered her out of the doorway and onto the couch, calling for Harry. "Hermione what happened?" he asked causing her to break into tears again. This was too much for her to handle right now; everything was catching up with her. Everything that had happened that day and she couldn't handle it. She didn't want to have to handle it.

"Oh, don't cry. Don't cry." Ron said wrapping her up into a hug, "Everything's going to fine Mione. Whatever's wrong, we can fix it."

"No we can't." She told him, "I signed the paper Ron, I can't take it back."

"You signed what paper? Hermione, you have to tell me what's wrong. I can't help if I don't know what's going on." Ron said.

Hermione took several deep breaths trying to calm herself down and she felt a glass of water being pressed into her hand. She looked up to see Harry standing there a concerned look upon his face. "Take a drink Hermione." He told her, "It should help."

Hermione took a deep drink but didn't feel better. She took another but she felt entirely the same and completely broken hearted. Apparently it didn't show thought because both Harry and Ron looked much calmer. "Good now, Hermione tell us what's wrong." Harry said.

"You know the meeting I was supposed to have with the Minister today." Hermione said.

"Yeah." Harry and Ron said in unison.

"Well it didn't go very well." She told them unable to stop a sob from escaping her lips. Harry and Ron exchanged a look, both not used to Hermione being in such distress. It must have something big for her to be this upset.

"Mr. Malfoy and Draco was there." she told them. "And the Minister he…he's such a horrible retched man. I can't believe he would do that to us. It can't be legal, it can't…" Suddenly the tears were gone and the anger was back. She wasn't going to let him get away with this. She wouldn't let him do this ever again, no matter what it took.

"What can't be legal? Hermione you're not making any sense." Ron said.

"Hermione I know its hard and your obviously angry and upset but we need to know what's going on to be able to help you." Harry said.

"Minister Trimble…he, he made me and Mr. Malfoy sign a marriage contract."

"He what?"

"We signed a magically bonded contract saying we agreed to marry for six years to help the pureblood and Muggleborn relations." She said numbly, as if hoping it wasn't true. "I signed my life away and I can't do anything about it now. There's nothing anyone can do." The sobs returned as she buried her head into Ron's chest hoping that everything would just go away. Hoping that this was just some horrible dream she would wake up from. She clung to those hopes and to Ron as she cried herself to sleep.

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Hermione groaned as she felt the sunlight hit her face. She didn't want to get up, she just wanted to sleep. When she was sleeping she didn't have to worry about anything.

"How you doing?" Harry asked coming into the room. He had heard her from the other room and had quickly come to make sure she was alright. He had never seen her like she was last night. So upset. So defeated.

"Alright I guess." She said setting up. She certainly wouldn't be getting any more sleep now. He held out a coffee cup for her as he down next to her. She took it gratefully, if nothing else it gave her something to do with her hands.

"It is a lot to take in." he said.

"Yeah….What time is it?"

"Almost noon." He said, "I didn't want to wake you up, I figured that if anyone deserved to sleep it was you."

"Thanks." She said quietly, "Where's Ron?"

"He already left for work." Harry said.

"Why aren't you there?" she asked.

"Well we figured you were more important then work but that the people at work would notice if we both missed a day...so you're stuck with me." He said.

"I could be stuck with worse." She said taking another sip of coffee.

"Hermione…Hermione would you mind talking about it again? I know you explained last night but you were so upset, it was hard to focus on what you were saying at times."

"I'm sorry about that Harry; I shouldn't have come here and unloaded on the two of you. I can't believe that I got so emotional…."

"Hermione I'm glad you came." He said, "I'm not too thrilled with the reason behind it but I'm glad you came to us."

"So, what do you want to know?"

"Everything." He told her.

"It's rather simple really." She said, "I went to a meeting with the Minister yesterday to find Mr. Malfoy there along with Draco. He then proceeded to threaten us until we agreed to the idea of the marriage and had no choice but to sign a magical binding contract. Between the two of us we were able to negotiate a slightly better deal but…it doesn't change anything. For the next few years I'll be Mrs. Malfoy." She said it as if she was talking about business or the weather. She said it like it wasn't her life she was talking about. She seemed detached from it somehow.

"What do you mean he threatened you?" Harry asked, "With what?"

"He told Mr. Malfoy that he would expose his Deatheater activities if he refused and he told me that I would never find a job if I refused."

"A job? Hermione I know you, you could have found a way around that." Harry said.

"Your right, that's what I thought." She said, "Until he threatened Mr. Malfoy the way he did."

"We all did things that we regretted during the war." Hermione said quietly, "I didn't want those things brought up again. He threatened Lucius with a trial; if he had kept digging past the surface we both know he could threaten me with the same."

"Hermione you—"

"I should go." She said standing up, "I have dinner with him tonight at seven and I have some things that I need to do before then."

"You're having dinner with him? Are you sure that that's a good idea?" Harry asked.

"I'm going to marry him Harry." She said, "Eating dinner with him certainly can't make anything worse."

"We could try fighting this." Harry said as she made her way to the door.

"Your right, we could." She said turning back around, "But where would that get us?"

"Hermione…"

"Its fine Harry, everything will be fine…I just need to sort a few things out."

"Hermione you have every reason to be upset."

"There are people with much bleaker future's then mine, Harry. So I'll be married to Lucius Malfoy. It's only a few years and then it'll be over." She said.

"Hermione stop talking like this doesn't mean anything." Harry said.

"Everything's going to be fine Harry." She told him, "I promise." And with a pop she disapparated out before Harry could stop her.

She had gotten too emotional last night, she knew she had. She had allowed her emotions take over her. She would never be able to survive a marriage to Lucius if she kept acting like that. Marriage wasn't the end of the world. She could do this. She knew she could. She would have to.

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Hermione spent the rest of the day in a daze. She kept trying to convince herself that nothing was different. That the meeting with the Minister hadn't happened. But there was a small nagging part of her kept reminding her of it. She wanted nothing more then to throttle that small voice.

She went through the motions of getting ready for her dinner. Picking out black dressrobes, a part of her realizing that it was probably better not to go into the snake's den dressed like a lion. She didn't wear any make-up, she hardly ever did, and she didn't think this situation warranted it. She may be marrying Lucius Malfoy but that did not mean she had to dress up for him.

She paced around her apartment for as long as possible before she knew she would have to leave. Neither Professor Snape nor Mr. Malfoy would appreciate her showing up late. She flooed to the Headmaster's office, she had an open invitation to do so whenever necessary and after a quick hello to the headmaster and deputy headmistress, she headed down to the dungeons.

She knocked gently on the door to Professor Snape's private office, bracing herself for the night to come. "Enter." His voice rang out. She steeled herself before she entered, reminding herself that he was no longer her professor and he could no longer punish her for something that she did or said. She wasn't sure how comforting that was though, as now he wasn't under the headmaster's restrictions and she didn't know how he would act.

"Hello Professor Snape." She said stepping into the room.

"Miss Granger." He said with a nod.

"I'd really prefer if you called Hermione." She told him moving closer to his desk. "After all, I won't be Miss Granger for much longer, will I?"

He raised an eyebrow at her demeanor, far from the student he remembered her to once be, but nodded his head acceptingly. She was right, sooner then they would all like she would be a Malfoy.

"I have a few more papers to finish grading, but take a seat I should be ready in a few minutes." He told her before going back to his papers. Hermione took her seat and tried to act as calm and poised as she could. She didn't need to unravel before she even made it to the dinner.

-----------------------------------

Hermione stepped through the fireplace and suddenly felt very undeserving to be there. The room was decorated in whites and greens, with furniture and accessories that screamed money. The tables and furniture were made of dark woods and the dark drapes kept almost any light other then the fire from coming in. She seemed very out of place and she didn't know how she was ever going to fit in there when she felt so uncomfortable so soon after arriving. The Malfoy's hadn't even had the chance to insult her yet.

"Hello Severus." Lucius said walking over to them. "Miss Granger. It's _nice_ to see you again." He said choosing his words very carefully. He took her hand in his own and gently brushed his lips against it, causing Hermione to shiver at the contact. She hoped he didn't notice her reaction.

"Mr. Malfoy." She said evenly, "Thank you for inviting me."

"Of course, dinner should be ready soon." He said guiding towards the dark green sofa. As she sat down the other three men took there own seats around the room, each, she realized, gave them an excellent view of her. Suddenly she was self-conscious in the dress-robes that she picked up. They were modestly cut to her knee but there was a slit that went up each side that went up considerably higher. She hadn't thought much about it before but now she wished that she had paid more attention to something other then the color when she was picking out her robes.

They sat there in silence as they waited for dinner to be ready; the only sound was the ticking of the grandfather clock on the far side of the room. All three men sat calmly staring in her direction, the silence not seeming to affect them. She only hoped she appeared as composed.

There was a quiet pop a few minutes later and Hermione turned in her seat to see a small house-elf standing there dressed in the most elegant tea-rags she had ever seen. In fact she wouldn't be surprised if they were made of silk. "Dinners is ready Master." He squeaked.

"Thank you Talley." Lucius said, "I have someone I would like you to meet. Miss Granger."

Hermione stood up and walked over to Lucius, smiling friendly down at the house-elf. "Talley this is Miss Granger, she will be the next Mistress of the manor." Lucius explained.

"Talley is very honored to meet Miss." Talley said bowing deeply. "Talley will make sure that other house-elves know."

"That will be all Talley." Lucius said, "You may leave now."

"Once we are married," Lucius said as he led Hermione towards the kitchen, "You will receive a house-elf of your own."

"I don't need one." Hermione said quickly. It was one thing to live in a house full of them, but it was completely different to order one around herself. To have one belong specifically to her. She didn't know if she would be able to keep herself from accidentally insulting it.

"Nonsense" he said, "All the women of the manor have had one, you will be no different."

------------------------------

Dinner was very awkward for Hermione. It was eaten in complete silence as they ate each course. The food was magically put on their plate so there wasn't even the normal 'please pass the…' that she got used to at the Weasley's and when she often had dinner with the boys. There was none of that here. Just silence that then men seemed perfectly content with and unnerved her completely.

Lucius carefully watched his wife-to-be. He had expected to her to be the awkward, overly offensive girl he remembered her to be when he had first met her at sixteen. He should have known from her actions the day before that she wouldn't be but he had just thought that she had been in shock. That once she had gotten home and it had hit her that she would revert back to the seventeen year old girl that he had met at his first Order meeting. He remembered seeing her there, he never talked to her and she had never spoken to him, but he had noticed her. She was quiet, always the one to reign in her own friends and their outbursts, but he had seen her reactions when they had brought up something she didn't agree with. She was always fighting with herself not to say anything, sometimes she lost that fight. But as the years continued as he worked with Order and the war got worse, he saw less and less of her. It must have been those years of war that changed her. The war had changed most people. She seemed much more composed; she was able to control her emotions much better and was much harder to read. He wasn't sure if he liked that. He would much prefer the nervous seventeen year old that he at least knew he would be able to control. He would have preferred another Narcissa, crafty and cunning in her own way but easy to control with a diamond necklace or a new set of dressrobes. He doubted that would suffice with Hermione.

Lucius noticed his son watching her discreetly as well. She had changed a lot since her Hogwarts days and Draco had never been one to not appreciate a good view. Hermione had changed a lot since her Hogwarts days. He would never have imagined the girl he had met in Flourish and Blotts would grow up into the woman who sat in front of him today. He doubted his son did either, as he would have undoubtedly been nicer to her as a child. Maybe not a lot, but at least enough so he would have been forgiven easier.

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As dinner ended Lucius invited them all into the study, offering them drinks. Hermione couldn't help but smirk at the reactions to her drink. She had never been the type for frilly girly drinks like Lavender and Parvarti and she had never been a martini girl like Ginny. Mrs. Weasley said her love of scotch and Firewhiskey came from too much time with the boys. She didn't mind, she always liked to see people reactions to what she ordered. They were always amusing.

As they settled into their seats with their drinks the silence from dinner was broken and the talk began. Not the normal conversation that she was used to from the Weasleys, and Order, but instead the business like tone that consisted of very little substance and hardly ever discussing personal matters. Lucius asked Severus how school was going. Severus inquired how business was for Lucius and asked Draco how Pansy was. Draco brought up the subject of quidditch and Hermione tuned out, her thoughts wandering to more important things. She barely realized when the attention was turned back to her. "I'm sorry, what did you say?" Hermione asked.

"I inquired to how your friends had taken the news of the…engagement?" Lucius asked her. Apparently quidditch talk hadn't lasted much longer then finding out about the Slytherin team.

"Their not thrilled with it, but they're accepting it." She said.

"And Mr. Wood?" Lucius asked his face impassive.

"Collected the few items that he left in my apartment this morning." She said evenly. If he was trying to get a rise from her she would make sure he was disappointed.

"At least it's not a big loss." Draco said, "You're trading up by marrying a Malfoy."

"I think that depends entirely on who you ask." She told him.

"If you'll excuse me, I'd like to powder my nose." Hermione said breaking the sudden silence of the room, "May I use your lavatory?" she asked

"Of course." Lucius said snapping his fingers causing a small house-elf to appear, "Dippy will show you where to go."

"Right this way Mistress." The elf squeaked. Hermione followed her out of the room her head held high, never looking back at the others in the room. She knew if she did, the emotions she had been able to suppress throughout the night would come bubbling back to the surface.

"Granger certainly has grown up." Draco said once she was gone.

"That she has." Lucius said taking a drink of his own scotch. He had to admit, she had surprised him tonight. She wasn't what she thought her to be.

"She certainly doesn't seem to be the know-it-all that I had to teach." Severus said, "I must say, I would have much preferred to teach this Miss Granger."

"For obvious reasons." Draco said with a suggestive smile. Hermione may have changed but that did not mean Draco had.

-------------------------------

When Hermione returned, both Draco and Professor Snape were both gone. Leaving Lucius alone, sipping his scotch by the fire, which was casting an eerie shadow across her face.

"Where's Professor Snape and Mal—Draco?" she asked.

"Professor Snape needed to leave and Draco is showing him out." He explained standing up. "I thought we could take a tour of the manor, if that's alright with you. After all, once you're living here, you'll need to know your way around."

The way he said it she didn't think that she had much of an option, but she nodded her head and consented anyways. So far this evening had been surprisingly civil, she didn't need to change that now, when it when it was so close to being over.

The Manor was even bigger then she imagined when she entered. It seemed to have hundreds of rooms. There was an east wing and a west wing, there was a terrace and a conservatory and a whole room just for Draco's quidditch supplies. There was a setting room and a living room, and a library spanning three floors. The moment Hermione saw the library, she feel absolutely in love. Even Hogwarts library wasn't this big and she was absolutely itching to be able to get her hands on some of these books.

"I thought you might like this room the best." Lucius said with an amused smile. She hadn't seemed very impressed with the amount of guest bedrooms, or the size of what would someday be their room but this, this was something she obviously was rather fond of. He took note of that so that he would remember it later on.

"Yes, well I've always gone weak at the knees for a guy with a library." She told him.

He raised an eyebrow but remained silent as he took a seat near the window, gesturing for her to do the same. "I think we should start our own planning before we meet with the Minister." He said as she sat down.

"That seems like a good idea." She said, "Anything you had in mind?"

"Well when talking to the press, I'm positive they will ask how this…unexpected occurrence came to be."

"I've always found that when dealing with the press its better to tell them as much of the truth as possible. We can just tell them that…We met during the war efforts and kept in contact. Within the last year our relationship evolved and we recently became engaged. They can't find much fault in that."

"No, I don't believe they can." he said watching her closely. Hermione shifted slightly under his gaze. He had been civil tonight when she knew he didn't have to be. He had listened to her idea and instead of ignoring it, he had agreed to go with it. He had treated her like a woman he respected and accepted, not like the lowly mudblood that she had expected him to treat her like. She wasn't used to the attention that he was giving her, not from someone like him. She wasn't sure if she liked it. She wasn't sure that she didn't.

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_****_A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed. I love getting reviews and you all made me extremely happy. I'm glad that everyone's enjoying the story so far and I'm sorry that it took so long to get this out. I just never had the time to work on the story, I'll try to get the next chapter out sooner. (Hopefully anyways.) I apologize for the bad grammar and possible misspelling of words, I don't have a beta and I'm terrible at that type of thing, so I tend to over look it. Sometimes I think faster then I can type and it comes out jumbled and I don't notice….And sometimes I just don't know that I'm not right. _**

_**Please please review! I always love hearing ideas and suggestions and what my readers think about the story. **_


	4. Chapter Three

_**Chapter Three:**_

Lucius and Hermione had agreed to meet in lobby of the Ministry of Magic on Thursday; there they would walk to the Minister's office together. They agreed that it would be better to show a united front, then to go in separately and have the Minister focus in on one of them. Hermione was especially nervous for the day's events. She had never liked dealing with the press, finding them too invasive and she had discovered that there were more reporters like Rita Skeeter then there were not. She shuttered to think that that retched woman might be one of the reporters questioning her today.

Hermione arrived at the Ministry of Magic before Lucius. She found herself pacing in front of the statues, replaying everything she and Lucius had discussed the week before in her mind. They had managed to settle everything necessary the night she had gone to the Manor for dinner. Lucius had been remarkably agreeable with her ideas. He had listened and agreed with some, while giving her reasonable explanations for disagreeing with others. She didn't know what she had expected but it certainly hadn't been that. Since then she had been replaying what had happened that night, over and over. Every little word that he had said, every facial expression, and she had accomplished nothing more then making herself more confused.

He had been very much in control of his emotions, in fact the whole night she had barely been able to see his feelings. He had smirked, but he had never smiled to show his amusement over something she said or did. He had voiced his opinions about the Minister's inadequacies but never heatedly and never sharing all his thoughts about him. His face had retained the same emotionless look almost the whole night. The only time she had noticed a change was when they were in the library together. His expression had changed as he had watched her carefully, it was still unreadable but definitely different then anyone that she had seen before. It was as if he had been studying her the entire night and finally came to a conclusion, however he was unwilling to share what that conclusion was.

"Miss Granger." A deep voice came from behind her. She turned and saw Lucius standing there, dressed impeccably and intimidating as usual.

"Mr. Malfoy." She said moving so she was standing in front of him. "You know," she said quietly, "It might help make are story more believable if we use are first names."

"I think you are quite right." He said moving closer to her. He carefully looked around to see if anyone was watching, and he noticed that several familiar faces were.

"It seems we have an audience, _Hermione_." He whispered into her ear, his voice sending shivers down her spine. She discreetly looked around and saw almost half the people in the lobby watching them, none of them had the decency to do so subtly. She quickly shifted her focus from the people around her to Lucius' face, she had never been this close to him and suddenly she felt nervous. She forced a giggle, as if he had said something funny, before stepping back from him, taking his hand in her own and heading towards the elevator. She heard the whispers erupt around her but said nothing as she pretended not to notice. If people were already talking, less people would find the article in the paper suspicious.

When the doors shut on the lift, they were the only two there but neither one dropped their hands to drop the act. They had agreed to do this and neither of them did anything half-way.

"You would have done very well in Slytherin." He said referring to her acting abilities. He had never known a Gryffindor who had been able to face change this well.

The rest of the ride was in silence.

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This time it was the Minister who greeted them instead of his secretary. He seemed very anxious about the meeting, almost bubbling over with ideas. When he saw their hands clasped together Hermione noticed him grin manically. It was a struggle for Hermione to keep a sneer off her own face.

"Mr. Malfoy, Miss Granger." He said joyfully. "I'm so pleased to see you both."

"Minister" Lucius said with a nod of his head. Hermione said nothing, but smiled tightly at him instead.

"Yes, well…Come into my office." He said gesturing at the door. He entered before them, offering them each a drink. Both declined.

"Well then, let's get to business." He said, "I was thinking the wedding should take place soon. Very soon."

"I understand that weddings take time to plan and organize. And that guests will need ample time to reserve the date." He said as Hermione made to say something. "But I think that a month should give you ample time to make that happen."

"A month?" Hermione asked, her composure leaving her completely. "As in four weeks from now?"

"Yes, that was the idea." Minister Trimble told her.

"I think that what Miss Granger means, is that that seems very sudden." Lucius said calmly. "People could very well get the wrong idea from such a quick wedding." It infuriated Hermione even more that he had managed to keep his composure when she had not. She had been under the impression that they would have much longer to get used to the concept of marriage. To get used to the idea of six years together. A month was not ample time for that.

"A wedding that quick will only have people believing that it was a shot gun wedding." Hermione said.

"I'm sorry a what?" Minister Trimble asked, clearly not understanding her muggle reference.

"People will think I'm pregnant and that that's the only reason we're getting married." She explained through clenched teeth.

"Of course not." The Minister said the mad grin retuning to his face.

"So what, they'll think that we're so madly in love that we didn't want to wait?" she asked, the sarcasm evident in her voice.

"That is what we hope." He told them. Hermione shook her head in disgust but said nothing more.

"If a wedding that quick is necessary it can be arranged." Lucius said.

"Good, good." the Minister said. "Now, I have been thinking and I had some other plans that I would like to discuss with you."

"We have also put some thought into this and have some plans of our own we would like to share with you." Lucius said interrupting him. The Minister looked like he wanted to say something, but was smart enough not to interrupt Lucius while he was speaking.

"We plan to have the wedding on Hogwarts grounds." Hermione said.

"It is a neutral territory for everyone." Lucius said, "And should be acceptable to all guests. Dumbledore has already given us permission for whatever date we set." Hermione had refused to hold the wedding at the Ministry, as she knew Trimble would suggest, and Lucius had been adamant when they discussed it that he didn't want a group of….such diverse people in his home.

"I suppose that will be fine." Minister Trimble said, though it was clear he was not pleased with the idea. "Have you given any thought to what you might be wearing, Miss Granger?"

"No" Hermione said, "I was under the impression that I would have more time and hadn't thought about it at all."

"May I suggest that you wear a muggle wedding gown?" he asked her, though it was clear in his eyes it was not a request. "It would help to emphasize your background, and as we all know your background in the main reason you are here."

"I'm sure a muggle dress can be arranged." Hermione said. She hadn't expected him to suggest that, but found she had no real reason to argue with him and conceded. She was tired of fighting with the Ministry.

The wedding discussions continued between the three, they agree to allow the Minister to perform the ceremony but drew the line at writing their own vowels. Neither of them had ever found it necessary to write out there feelings for people to hear, especially because these feelings would be false. Hermione gave up on her idea of having a small wedding and settled for one much larger then she had ever wanted.

"Now one last thing," The Minister said. "When you were here the last time we discussed the prenuptial agreement. In fact that was part of the contract."

"I think we both remember." Lucius said.

"Yes, well I figured that it would be best if we handled that before the press was here. We don't need them to think we're hiding things."

"Of course not, then they might print the truth." Hermione mumbled to herself.

"What was that Miss Granger?" Lucius asked, though he had caught what she said he never liked it when people muttered to themselves. He found it unnecessary and undignified.

"Nothing, nothing." Hermione said waving it away. "In regards the pre-nupt, I don't ask for much." She said, "Just enough to keep me on my feet until I can find a job and my own possessions."

The Minister looked at her quizzically, expecting her to have asked much more and Lucius had a hard time not doing so himself. Most women would have jumped at the chance to take him for all that they could. Narcissa had certainly caused a decrease in his funds. Hermione's lack of interest in his money made him question what was so different about this woman that she would sign away any chance at it. He didn't know whether to be pleased or suspicious. Was this just some foolish Gryffindor action or was there another reason behind it? He had seen the changes in her and his words in the elevator had been true. She would have done well in Slytherin with her thought out plans and abilities in deception. Was she not asking for anything now, but planning on finding another way to get a hold of it later?

"Is…is that all, Miss Granger?" The Minister asked her skeptically. Lucius was not the only suspicious of her lack of interest in all that the Malfoy's had to offer.

"Yes. I don't know of anything else that I would want." She responded serenely. She didn't know what the big deal was. "I have no need for anything else."

-----------------------

"Well it seems we have finished early." The Minister announced when Hermione was done signing the papers. "I'd say we have a good half-in-hour before the press is to arrive."

"Wonderful." Hermione said. It was clear to Lucius that she was not looking forward to talking to the press. He could not blame the girl, he had seen the articles that had been written about her in the past. She was not always reflected in the best lights. He distinctively remember one referring to her as 'Harry Potter's power hungry love'. Anyone who knew her knew that it was a lie but he doubted that this announcement would do anything to improve her reputation.

"If we have some time, I wonder if you could leave us alone to discuss a few things." Lucius said turning to the Minister.

"I can assure you that whatever you say will be held in the utter most confidence." Minister Trimble told him.

"I'm sure it would." Lucius said, sarcasm dripping from every word. "However I would prefer to talk in private. If you would prefer, we can find someplace else to speak however I can not assure you of how soon we would be back."

"Of course" Minister Trimble said hurrying to get up. He knew better then to let them leave, there was a good chance they wouldn't come back. "I'll just go speak with Miss Dashwood. I should be back in twenty minutes time. That should give you enough time to speak, shall it not?"

"That will do." Lucius said. Hermione refrained herself from asking him what they needed to speak about and instead chose to look out the window. The windows were magical and only allowed her to see a dark sky and what looked like rain clouds, but it allowed her to focus on something other then her impending marriage, though she had trouble doing that. All she could wonder was if it would rain on her wedding day.

"Miss Granger?" Lucius said trying to gain her attention. "Miss Granger? Hermione?"

"Yes." Hermione said jerking out her thought at the sound of her first name.

"I dismissed the Minister because I realized that there was something that we hadn't discussed after you left last week."

"Really? And what was that?"

"This." He said removing a small velvet box from his robes. "I thought the press might wonder if you didn't have an engagement ring."

Hermione took the small box from him, not willing to meet his eyes unsure of what expression she would find there.

Lucius watched silently as her eyes shone with delight. It was a simple but elegant design that had been passed down for generations in the Malfoy family. He had kept it safe in the Gringotts safe since Narcissa had thrown it at his head. Narcissa had always been one for the dramatics; the day she had told him that she wanted out of 'this lie of a marriage' had been no different. He had no desire to see it after that and would have purchased another one for Hermione but it was expected of him to give her this ring. Other pureblood families would have questions if he didn't.

"It's beautiful, thank you." She said lifting the ring carefully from the box.

"Traditionally it is the gentleman's job to do that." He said smoothly, taking the ring from her hand before she could protest. He took her hand in his own and Hermione couldn't help but notice it how warm it was. Despite what she knew of him, she had never gotten over her original image of him and she still thought of his as cold, including his hands. He slipped the ring onto her finger, taking note to how perfectly it fit even without the resizing charm.

"Thank you Mr. Malfoy." Hermione said finally gathering enough courage to look him in the eyes.

"It's only fitting that you have it." He told her, his voice back to its regular aloof tone. "There was something else that I wanted to discuss with you."

"Yes?" she said still looking at the ring. She hadn't expected something quite this exquisite. She had expected something nice, something expensive and gaudy but not something this beautifully simple. It was something that she herself would have picked out.

"It is customary for engaged couples to have a formal ball." He said, "But we haven't discussed any plans yet. With the advancement of the wedding I think we should put some thought into it and send invitations out as soon as tomorrow."

"You mean like an engagement party? Tomorrow?" she asked.

"Yes."

"That's…awfully sudden." She said still trying to comprehend what he was saying.

"So is our wedding." He told her.

"Mr. Malfoy, Miss Granger." Minister Trimble said hurrying back into his office, "I know it hasn't been twenty minutes but the press has started to arrive."

"Their early." Lucius snapped at him.

"Yes, well there's nothing I can do about that now." Minister Trimble said.

"Its fine, will finish talking after were done here." Hermione said. "Lets just get this over with."

"Wonderful." The Minister said clapping his hands together. "I'll just go get them."

"Let the fun begin." Hermione muttered.

-------------------------

Lucius moved his chair closer to Hermione's, taking her hand in his still gloved one. If this was to work they would have to show the world a closer relationship then they had.

The Minister arrived a few moments later in his wake a tall man that neither of them had seen before, Rita Skeeter, a large smirk upon her face, and her photographer and Luna Lovegood.

"Now I believe almost everyone knows each other." Minister Trimble said. "This is Mr. Michael Darce." He said gesturing to him, "He's here from Witch Weekly." Lucius raised his eyebrows at this, not expecting a man to represent a woman's magazine. "And this is Rita Skeeter representing the Daily Planet."

"We're well aware." Hermione said.

"Mr. Malfoy, Miss Granger, its lovely to see you both again." Rita said. "Especially under such wonderful circumstances, however _surprising_ they may be."

"Thank you." Hermione ground through her teeth.

"And Luna Lovegood is here representing the Quibbler." Minister Trimble continued.

"Hello Luna." Hermione said.

"Hello Hermione." Luna said serenely, "I was ever so delighted to hear of your news and the engagement too of course."

"Thank you?" Hermione said unsure of what she was talking about. But then again she hardly ever knew what Luna was talking about back in school.

"Yes well set down, set down." Minster Trimble said conjuring up four more seats. "And let's begin."

"Thank you Minister." Rita said removing a pad of paper and her quick-quill from her bag. "Now, how exactly did the two of you meet?" Rita asked eyeing them suspiciously.

"We met because of the war efforts. Since then we have stayed in contact and about a year ago are relationship progressed and I began courting Miss Granger." Lucius said evenly. Hermione was thankful that he didn't seem fazed by the three reporters staring them down, it helped keep Hermione calm.

"During the war?" Rita asked raising a thin eyebrow, "Exactly how old _were_ you when you first met, Miss Granger?"

"Technically I met him when I was seventeen, but I didn't begin working with him until at least two years later." Hermione said, "However right now I'm twenty-three and that's really the only age that matters."

"How is your son taking the news of the engagement?" the man from witch weekly asked.

"Draco and Hermione get along quite well." Lucius said, "Especially when you consider their…past relationship from their school days. He will be serving as Best Man at the wedding."

"And he has no problem with a stepmother his own age?" Rita asked.

"He hasn't said anything to that effect." Hermione said.

"When exactly is the wedding?" Luna asked. Unlike Rita and Mr. Darce she wasn't taking notes at all. She was just setting there, watching them both serenely.

"In a little less than a month." Hermione said.

"They will be holding the wedding at Hogwarts, with myself presiding, like I told you earlier." Minister Trimble said.

"So soon?" Rita asked, "Any certain reason for such a quick wedding?" Hermione saw her eyes lingering on her stomach and her quick-quill pen working overtime.

"We saw no need for a long engagement." Lucius said.

"Neither of us are what you would call patient people." Hermione said, "We wanted to be married as soon as possible."

"Are you aware of the criticism that this marriage is likely to receive?" Mr. Darce asked.

"Yes, we are aware." Lucius said.

"Do you have anything to say to these people?" he asked.

"No." Hermione said looking directly at Rita, "If people look down on us because of this union, then we have nothing to say to them."

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Hermione awoke to the sound of pounding on her door. She groaned in frustration, rolling onto her back. She hadn't slept well the night before and the last thing she needed was to deal with whoever it was on the other side of her door. Especially because she had a pretty good idea who it was.

Not even bothering to grab her robe, she climbed out of bed and into the living room. "Who is it?" Hermione called through the door.

"It's us." Ron's voice came through the door. "Open the door!"

"I will do no such thing if you continue using that tone." Hermione called back.

"What!?"

"Either calm down or leave." She said.

"We're calm Hermione." Harry's voice came.

"Yeah, sure you are." Hermione muttered under her breath. She didn't believe them, but she figured it was best to get this over with now, instead of later. She had barely opened the door before Ron had pushed his way in, Harry hesitantly coming in beside him.

"Do you care to explain this?" Ron roared, throwing a copy of the Daily Planet down on her coffee table. "Or this?" he said adding the Quibbler to the pile.

"No copy of Witch Weekly?" Hermione commented, "But I guess that doesn't come out biweekly does it?"

"Don't you have anything to say about this?" Ron said pointing to the picture on the front page. "And why aren't you dressed yet? Its nine o'clock. You're always awake and dressed by nine o'clock."

"I had a long night." Hermione said. "I went back to the Malfoy Manor—"

"Lucius Malfoy had better not have been the reason your tired." Ron yelled.

"And we planned our engagement party."

"You what?" Harry asked.

"We planned our engagement party." Hermione said, "And if the two of you grow up, then you're both invited. It's Sunday night at Malfoy Manor. Be warned though, more of Lucius' associates will be there then mine."

"The papers say your getting married in a month." Harry said.

"Hence the need for a quick engagement party." Hermione said avoiding his eyes, "It'll really be more like an early rehearsal dinner."

"Were you going to tell us?" Harry asked.

"I only found out about it yesterday." Hermione said, "You didn't really give me a chance too."

"A month isn't very long." Ron said.

"No, no its not." Hermione said picking up the Daily Planet. The headline read '_Malfoy's to add Muggleborn to Family'_, knowing Rita the rest of the article wouldn't be quite as tame.

"You might not want to read that." Harry said, "There's a lot of speculation about why you're getting married so quickly and…well Rita never really has liked you. Add that to the age difference and the whole pureblood Muggleborn thing…"

"And she doesn't depict us very well." Hermione said staring at the black and white picture of her and Lucius. In it they looked very much the part. Lucius had his arm wrapped around her waist and she had her hand on his chest and the picture showed alternating between looking at the camera and looking at Lucius. She wasn't quite sure what to think about it.

"You know if I didn't know better then I'd believe it." Harry said looking over her shoulder. Hermione continued to stare at the picture instead of saying anything. In the picture she could almost see it herself. She could see a possible future for the two of them. Eating dinner in their dinning room each night. Sharing a bed. Reading the paper together. But in the future she saw, they weren't together. They were married but they were running two very separate lives. She would be his wife, not his friend, not anything to him. Just a means to end because once this marriage was over then he was free.

"Hermione? Hermione are you okay?" Harry asked.

"Yeah." Hermione said quickly, "I'm fine. I'm just going to go get dressed. If you guys stay, I'll make you breakfast."

"Sounds good to me." Ron said with a grin. He had already eaten breakfast but he had always loved Hermione's cooking.

"I'll be right back." Hermione said before going into her bedroom. She closed and locked the door behind her as she sunk to the ground. She didn't know if she was strong enough to do this. She had been going into this thinking that it would be easy. That she could at the part in public but be herself when she got back home. But it wasn't going to be that easy, yesterday had proven that. It had been torture to set there as Rita had criticized her and Lucius relationship, to set there and act like she was marrying him out of love. She didn't know if she could do that every day. She didn't know how she was going to. All she knew was that because of the Minister, she would have too.

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_**Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who reviewed! You're all so incredibly nice. Sorry this took so long to get out. Life's been crazy and it's been hard to find time to update. I'll try to be quicker with the next update but no promises, school is crazy right now and life in general is crazy as well. Ideas, suggestions, and nice**** criticism is always welcome, so if you have any let me know. **_

**_Please review! It always makes me smile!_ **


	5. Chapter Four

_**Chapter Four:**_

Baths had always relaxed her. Since a young age she had taken to taking baths whenever she was upset or anxious about things to come. They always seemed to calm her, take her into a state of blissful unawareness of the things around her, often resulting in her falling asleep. Sleep, something that had been harder and harder to come by recently as the news of such a quick wedding settled upon her.

She knew that she had to marry him but she just wished that she would have had more time. Time to get to know him, even just a little bit better. Time to accept that she was going to be a stepmother, to Draco Malfoy, of all people. Time to prepare herself for the reactions that she was to receive over the news; Mrs. Weasley still couldn't look her in the eyes….Time to stop it from happening in the first place.

Ever since the day the Minister had pushed forward the date of the wedding, she had found herself lying awake at night, thoughts of the future rushing through her head. She didn't know Lucius, she didn't know what kind of a husband he would be; she didn't even know what kind of a man he really was. She still had vivid images of him dressed as a Deatheater, and for the last few days it wasn't unusual for her to wake up with that in her mind. In fact, that was what she had woken up to this morning. Unsettling images of his black, gloved hands on her body, his cold stare locked on her own as she called out his name; she would have blushed at the thought of such a dream if it wasn't for the silver mask he had worn. He was still very much a Deatheater in her mind and she didn't know how she would ever separate him from that image.

Trying to push all thoughts of Lucius out of her mind, Hermione settled further down into the tub, inhaling the scent of lavender drifting off of the bubbles. It was barely five minutes before she fell asleep.

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Lucius walked across the ballroom, looking over the preparations for the party this evening. In the past, it had always been Narcissa looking over the house-elves work, often punishing several for small things, just to calm her nerves. However, Narcissa was no longer there and Hermione seemed to be running late, not that she would have known what to do in the first place. Despite her intelligence, she still had a lot to learn about proper pureblood etiquette. But he had plans for her, that much was certain. He may have been forced into this marriage but that didn't mean that he wouldn't use it to his own advantage.

His muggleborn bride would open a whole new world of people for him. A marriage to her would mean people slowly forgetting about his past, allowing him to regain the power he once had, if not holding more weight then he ever had before. Add that to the publicity they were already receiving, and would be, this marriage could change everything for him. Hermione Granger was a bright driven witch and with the proper training and handling he could become Minister of Magic if he wanted to, with her by his side. He would just have to get her to trust him first.

"Father?" Draco said coming into the room behind him.

"Yes, Draco?" Lucius asked turning around.

"I checked the kitchens; everything seems to be in order."

"Good."

"Is Granger here yet?" He asked, glancing around the ballroom. The first guests would be arriving in thirty minutes, and that was only if they didn't have the occasional guest who showed up early.

"No," Lucius said, "Though I expected her here already."

"That can't be good," Draco said. "Should someone go check on her?"

"No," Lucius said, immediately dismissing the idea. His son seemed a little too eager to help in this occasion. He wasn't sure what Draco's feelings were about his fiancé, but he was sure that they weren't harmless. No Malfoy was without an ulterior motive; it was just sometimes hard to figure out what that motive was. "If she doesn't arrive in another fifteen minutes, then I will go find her myself."

"Yes, Father." Draco said.

Hermione didn't arrive until ten minutes later. She was dressed in Muggle clothing and her hair was still wet, having not wasted the time to dry it even if it was just a simple spell. She had woken up in the bath with barely enough time to grab her dress for the evening; she didn't want Lucius angry with her for arriving even later.

"I'm late, I know, I'm sorry." She said as she hurried across the room, heading towards the grand staircase that led upstairs to the room Lucius had promised her until they were married. "Just give me a few minutes." She continued. She could feel Lucius and Draco's eyes on her back but she didn't stop walking. Never show weakness, that was the first rule of dealing with a Slytherin. She was already up the stairs before either of them had the chance to say anything.

"Oh, this party is going to go real well." Draco said rolling his eyes.

Lucius was inclined to agree with his son.

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Upstairs, Hermione sat at the vanity Lucius had provided her with. It was made completely of glass, delicate and more beautiful then anything she had seen like it. She was sure that it had been a gift for Narcissa at some point; it screamed of everything that she represented, and she couldn't help feel a little resentment. She was sure that this was not the only thing that she would gain that was once Narcissa's. The ring she was wearing was proof of that, even if it had been passed down in the Malfoy family. She also knew that she wouldn't be the only person comparing herself to Narcissa and her marriage to Lucius tonight.

There was a loud pop behind Hermione and she turned to see a small house-elf looking around nervously.

"Oh, hello." Hermione said, "Can I help you?" She had long ago given up on S.P.E.W, having learned the hard way that they didn't want to be freed; to most it was equal to her thoughts of their enslavements in the first place. But that didn't mean that she had stopped treating them nicely. She didn't want to think about how the Malfoys treated their house-elves.

"Help me?!" The elf squeaked, "Oh no, no, no! Master sent Pippy to help mistress. Pippy is here to help you!"

"That was very kind of him." Hermione said, smiling at the small elf. It didn't seem as if it was used too much kindness. "And yes, I think you can help me. I'm trying to figure out what to do with my hair." She said. "This is when I need Ginny."

"Mistress, Pippy is sorry. Me does not know about hair. Pippy is sorry, Mistress." She said. There was a quiver in her voice and tears shining in her large eyes.

"Oh no, Pippy, it's okay." She said quickly. She had just been trying to be nice to the elf and she had only ended upsetting her. It seemed she did that a lot around house-elves.

"I just want your opinion; there's no wrong answer." Hermione explained, "Do you think I should wear my hair up, or down?"

"The old mistress always wore her hair up…" Pippy said quietly, "But you's does not seem much like her."

"Then I'll wear my hair down." She said with a smile, "Thank you, Pippy." As she turned around to the mirror, she did not miss the large smile that appeared on Pippy's face.

She charmed her hair into soft waves and carefully applied her make-up; it wasn't a lot but it was more then she normally wore. She figured that the occasion called for it.

"How do I look, Pippy?" she asked turning around.

"Mistress looks very pretty." She said, nodding her head vigorously.

"Thank you Pippy, you're very sweet."

"Mistress is too kind."

"I'm just going to go get dressed. I'll be right back." She said, lifting her robes off the bed where she had left it earlier. Ginny had helped her pick out earlier that week, but she was still unsure about it. Ginny had assured her that it was the proper thing to wear at such an occasion and she claimed that she looked wonderful in it. But Hermione didn't feel wonderful, and when she looked in the mirror all she saw was the nervous smile of a frightened girl.

"Pippy, do these robes look alright?" she asked coming out of the bathroom, still tugging at them.

"I sent Pippy back downstairs." Her fiancé's silky voice answered her.

"Lucius." Hermione said, her head snapping up to see Lucius standing in the doorway. He was wearing a smirk and seemed perfectly content, as if the events of the night didn't rattle him at all. Thinking about it, Hermione realized they probably didn't. This wasn't his first time; it was hers.

"You look very nice Hermione." He said her name so it sounded as if he had known her for much longer then he had.

"Thank you." She said quietly.

"I brought you something." He said as he came further into the room. He was dressed in elegant robes, his hair pulled back with a silver ribbon, contrasting with his black robes. He seemed even more intimidating then normal, dressed so elegantly.

"Yes?" she asked. He had pulled a velvet box from his pockets and she was immediately reminded of the day in the Minister's office. She hadn't expected him to give her anything then either.

"Open it." He instructed her as he placed it into her hands.

She glanced at him nervously as she opened it slowly. It was a beautiful silver necklace, with an emerald pendent the shape of teardrop. It was exquisite.

"It's beautiful." She said as she lifted it from the box. She had never expected something so wonderful from Lucius. The engagement ring was required, but this was not. She heard a nagging little voice in the back of her head asking if it once had belonged to Narcissa. That successfully snapped her out of any thoughts about the possible kindheartedness of Lucius.

"Here, let me." Lucius said taking the necklace out of her hands. He took his place behind her, gently brushing the hair off her neck, his fingers caressing her, sending shivers up her spine. She could see him smirking to himself in the mirror.

"There." Came his voice in her ear. She could feel his breath on her neck and she could not stop the sharp intake of air on her part. She heard him chuckle deeply behind her, running his hands over her shoulders under the presumption that he was smoothing down her hair and dress. He loved that he could make her so uncomfortable while doing so little. She handled herself quite well in his presence, but he had noticed that she tensed when he got too close. He would be sure to exploit that fact this evening.

Hermione stepped away from Lucius and closer to the mirror fixing her necklace so it sat straight on her chest.

A silver chain with a green pendent and a black dress. She looked every bit the part of a Slytherin wife and she couldn't help but cringe at the picture. Was that really what she was going to become?

----------------------------

Lucius and Hermione made their entrance fifteen minutes later. Her hand was in the crook of his arm and there was a smile plastered onto her face. Even Lucius seemed as if he was happy with the situation.

The ballroom was crowded, but Hermione could recognize only a third of the people. And even then, some of them were only by their faces. "Don't forget you are supposed to be happy." Lucius whispered in her ear. She couldn't help but blush at his close proximity, and Hermione was sure that to whoever was watching it would seem they were having a very different conversation.

"Of course" She said smiling back at him.

"Father, _Hermione_." Draco said coming up beside them. Hermione found it odd to hear her name come from his lips and apparently so did Pansy, who was on Draco's arm, as she screwed up her face in distaste.

"You look lovely this evening, Hermione." He said, kissing Hermione's hand. He had been instructed to make sure that he seemed perfectly okay with the arrangement, despite his actual reservations, and he would make sure he did.

"Thank you." Hermione said quickly taking back her hand, Pansy was eyeing it suspiciously. At first she thought it was because of Draco, but her eyes narrowed in on it even after it was securely back on top of Lucius arm. She glanced down to see her diamond ring glittering in the candlelight. She could tell from the look on her face that Pansy had been hoping to get her claws on it. It must sting that someone so beneath her supposed status had ended up with it.

Draco and Pansy were the last familiar people that Hermione saw for a while. After speaking briefly with them, Lucius had whisked her away to meet the many other people there to see them. It was completely and utterly unnerving meeting them.

The women seemed to have formed their opinion on her long before they had met her. They looked down upon her, dislike evident in their eyes. They seemed to have chosen to believe Rita Skeeter and that she was only after Lucius because of his money. They thought nothing of her wanting him for his intelligence, personality or good looks. Surely no one could choose their husband for those qualities, they certainly hadn't.

The men often looked her up and down, as if they were appraising her. She wasn't always sure that she had passed the test. She was sure that to them she was nothing more then Lucius' new toy. It was evident from the way they looked at her. To many of them, it was a marriage of gain. Hermione would gain the title of Mistress Malfoy, married to a powerful pureblood and in return Lucius would get a young, energetic plaything for the next few years. Very few of the purebloods there believed them actually to be in love. Hermione shuddered at how close they were to the truth.

Other guests were much more polite, offering their congratulations with no veiled hostility or disdain. Though there were several who sent her pitiful or strange looks, as if wondering how this relationship really started. Hermione found herself missing Professor Snape, who had retreated some time ago to speak with Draco; he might not be the best of company, but he was as least open with his feelings.

As the night wore on, Hermione tired of dealing with the attendants of the party, and even with Lucius himself. He was almost always the one talking. She had been warned that it was common for the man to have almost all the control in relationships in pureblood society, but it was hard for her to stay silent at times and just nod her head and agree. She had learned to keep her feelings in check, but that didn't mean she enjoyed it. Usually, people respected her enough to at least hear her out; she knew that purebloods wouldn't be so accepting. She was still a lowly mudblood in many of their eyes. If she wanted to be accepted, she would have to grin and bare it, at least this time.

Lucius had a firm grip on her arm as he led her away from the most recent couple, a young wife, like herself, and a husband almost twenty years older then Lucius. Hermione didn't think that she looked very happy, but her husband certainly did. He had mentioned several times that Lucius was lucky to be marrying so much younger. "Melinda certainly outshines my previous wives." He told them. "I couldn't ask for anything more." He seemed happy and even his wife had smiled at that.

Hermione saw Harry and Ron across the room and moved to go towards them only to be stopped by Lucius' hand. "I have some more people I would like you to meet." He told her smoothly. He had obviously seen where she was trying to go and had decided to stop it. That was about as much as she could take.

She moved closer to him, moving until she was in front of him, barely an inch between them as she leaned into whisper in his ear. "I understand that there are people here that you want to see." She hissed, "But if you lead me up to one more person, your hand gripping my arm like I'm a petulant child, I'll make a scene as if I am one."

She pulled away, grinning devilishly as if she had whispered something wicked into his ear. He narrowed his eyes in on her quickly and she knew that he was keeping his temper in check but his face never changed and she felt him drop the hold on her arm.

"Whatever you wish, my dear." He told her.

"Wonderful." She said as she began to lead them towards Harry and Ron. They were looking around the room, looking terribly out of place. She felt Lucius' wrap his hands around her waist as they moved closer. He had been alternating between that and her arm all night.

"I see the two of you are already dipping into the stock of Firewhiskey." Hermione said, coming up in front of the two. "I'm rather fond of it myself."

Ron took another large drink as he looked them over. She was standing there with him, looking for all the world like that she was where she belonged.

"It is surprisingly good." Harry said, looking warily towards Lucius. He was watching both him and Ron closely, as if expecting them to do something rash, and his hand had not moved from Hermione's waist. He could see Ron watching the hand as it rubbed small circles over the cloth. Hermione was used to it; he had been doing it for awhile and while at first it had completely unnerved her, she had been able to convince herself that it was just a part of the act. She repeated that as she felt his hand move a little lower; she could tell by the look on his fact that he was doing it because of Harry and Ron. "Do you want me to get you anything to drink, Hermione?" Harry offered, trying to break the tension.

"I already have that taken care of." Lucius said as a tray appeared, hovering nearby. He took two glasses of brandy from the tray, handing one to Hermione and keeping one for himself. "I remembered you liked it, _Hermione_."

Neither Harry nor Ron liked the way he said her name. It came out much too naturally, too smoothly, for a man who hated her.

"Thank you, Lucius." Hermione said, not once faltering as she said his name. Ron would have caught the look Harry had sent him if he wasn't trying so hard not to gape.

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When they all sat down for dinner, Hermione was thankful that Lucius and Draco were at the opposite table. As the future matriarch of the family, she was sitting opposite him at the end of the table, Harry and Ron on either side of her as she had arranged. Lucius wasn't fond of the idea originally, but she had pointed out that they were the closest thing she had to family now, and them being there would show their support. He had reluctantly agreed, but he had still agreed.

"You okay, Mione?" Harry asked, leaning closer so she could hear him.

"Of course, Harry." She said forcing a smile. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I can think of a few reasons." Ron said, nodding in Lucius' direction.

"Guys, we're at my engagement party." She told them, "Can we just let this drop for tonight? Just have fun."

"You don't seem like you're having very much fun." Ron told her.

"Then you're obviously not paying enough attention." She hissed back at him. She turned her interest back to the plate in front of her, only looking up again to send a surprisingly convincing smile towards Lucius, who had been watching her throughout the meal. She didn't want to know why.

When dinner was done, the plates, along with the remains, disappeared and were replaced with wine and dessert. Chocolate drizzled in strawberry sauce, her favorite. She lost her appetite as she glanced back up at Lucius. Somehow, it seemed tainted, associated with a night of such lies.

"I'd like to make a toast." Draco said standing. Hermione hadn't expected that. "To my father and Hermione," he said raising his glass with the rest of the table, "Who I believe, are getting everything that they deserve in each other."

Hermione prayed that he was wrong.

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The guests were slow to leave, much slower then Hermione would have liked. Harry and Ron were ones of the first to go, reluctant to leave her but not wanting to stay. Others stayed longer, speaking with Lucius and herself until they suddenly realized the time. Hermione had realized the time long before the first guests began to leave.

She was tired of dealing with people. All she really wanted to do was be left alone and to get some rest. But that didn't seem like that was going to happen anytime soon because even after all the guests had left she was still on guard. A room full of Slytherins would do that to a Gryffindor.

Hermione leaned back into the couch, trying to ignore the glares that Pansy was sending towards her and the fact that despite that all of the real guests had left Lucius's hand was still on her knee.

"It's getting late." Lucius said, his thumb rubbing circles on her knee. She was doing her best to pretend that she didn't notice, but she most certainly did. So did everyone else in the room. "Perhaps you should take Pansy back home, Draco." He said, "I'm sure her parents will be wondering where she is."

"Of course, Father." Draco said standing. "Come on, Pans." He said, offering her a hand to help her up. She took it, smiling back at him before turning to Lucius and Hermione.

"Mr. Malfoy, it was a pleasure seeing you again."

"Likewise." He said stiffly as he stood up. He too stuck out his hand, a silent indicator that Hermione should stand as well. She fought the urge to roll her eyes, but did as expected, placing her own hand in Lucius' warmer one. She had noticed earlier that his hands were always warm, no matter where they were on her body. A large difference from the cold she normally felt when he was wearing his gloves. She couldn't help but hope that he wouldn't wear them during the wedding. Maybe it would make her feel like she was marrying someone else.

"And Hermione…" Pansy said with an obvious fake smile. "I'll be looking forward to seeing you again soon."

"Of course." Hermione said with a sickeningly sweet smile of her own. She wouldn't let Pansy intimidate her. No matter what she thought, she was not above her. For all intents and purposes she was to be Lucius's wife, which would mean she got all the perks, including the ability to chose who she wanted and who she didn't want in her house. "Draco's _friends_ are always welcome at the Manor." She continued, "Just call ahead before you come. We wouldn't want you to stumble upon something you shouldn't see." Hermione could swear she heard Lucius chuckle quietly next to her.

Pansy couldn't hide the surprise or the blush as she looked over them both. It was clear what she thought Hermione was talking about. In truth, it was more likely that she would see what little interaction the two would have together but Hermione wasn't about to tell her that.

"Come on, Pans." Draco said, pulling at her hand. She was still partially gaping as she left the room.

"Not the most articulate girl, is she?" Hermione said, slipping her hand out of Lucius's grasp.

"She never has been." Severus said from the couch across from her. "Surely you remember that from your school days."

"Yes well, I try to block out most involvement with Slytherins from my schooldays." She said as she once again leaned back into the couch. She wanted to go home as well, but right now the effort that it would take to get there seemed too much to be worthwhile.

"That might make living here difficult." Lucius told her.

"Yes, well, I try to block that out as well." Hermione said. Both men raised an eyebrow at her candor, but said nothing.

"I take it Miss Parkinson doesn't know about the…arrangement involving your marriage." Severus said, shifting his attention to Lucius.

"Draco and I both thought it best that she not be aware." Lucius said, "Which, Miss Granger, means that we will have to act the ever doting couple whenever she is around."

"Hopefully, she won't be around often." Hermione said.

"She is involved with my son." He said. Hermione barely restrained herself from vocalizing her wish that he wouldn't be around often either. Instead she just closed her eyes and nodded her head.

"I should be getting back to Hogwarts." Severus said standing up.

"Of course, I'll walk you out." Lucius said, standing. Hermione started to as well, but Professor Snape motioned of her to stop.

"Miss Granger." He said nodding at her, "I look forward to seeing you soon."

Surprisingly, he seemed sincere in what he was saying; she couldn't help but believe him.

"I do as well." She said as the two men left the room together. When she was sure that they were gone, she let her shoulders droop and felt herself begin to relax. She barely even noticed when her eyes closed.

Lucius returned a few minutes later to find her asleep on the couch.

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_**Authors Note: So there it is guys, I hope you like it. Thanks to everyone who reviewed and big thanks to my new beta Emma, who you can all thank for correcting my horrible grammar and spelling. **_

_**Please Review!!!**_


	6. Chapter Five

_**Chapter Five:**_

Hermione turned in bed, trying to ignore the sunlight streaming through her window, demanding her to wake up. She buried her face into her pillow, pulling her silk sheets tighter around herself, trying to fall back into her dreams. Then it hit her: She didn't have silk sheets.

She sat up quickly, taking in the large room around her. It looked nothing like hers, with its dark coloring, high ceilings, and antique furniture. It wasn't until she spotted what had once been Narcissa's vanity did she realize where she was. For a moment she was relieved, and then she started to panic. Why was she still at Malfoy Manor? The last thing she remembered was sitting in the sitting room, waiting for Lucius to return so she could leave, and she had settled down on the couch…where she had promptly fallen asleep.

Hermione groaned, throwing back the covers and standing up. This was the last place she wanted to be right now. She glanced down at herself and blushed at the amount of skin exposed by the black nightgown she was wearing. She didn't want to think about how she had gotten out of her dressrobes and into this.

She glanced around the room carefully, but she couldn't find her dressrobes or her muggle clothing from the night before. "Great. That's just great." Hermione said to herself. There was a silk robe draped over the chair of her vanity, but she could tell it was much shorter then she would have preferred, especially when she knew she would have to deal with the Malfoys. Unfortunately, it would have to do for now.

Taking a deep breath, Hermione hesitantly opened her door, peering out into the hallway. It was light outside, she had seen that much through the windows of her room, but she was unaware of the time. Lucius could be in bed or he could already be having his afternoon meal.

She quietly made her way downstairs, half dreading finding Lucius. She couldn't believe that she had fallen asleep and she didn't want to hear his or Draco's snide and condescending remarks about it. She herself wouldn't have thought herself comfortable enough to fall asleep at Malfoy Manor; she could only imagine Lucius's surprise to find her asleep when he had returned.

Hermione stopped outside the dinning room, one of the few rooms she could remember how to get to, and peered inside. There was no one there, although she did notice that there were three places set at the table, odd for a house with normally only two occupants. Lucius was obviously expecting her to stay.

She checked the sitting room next and then the study, but she found no one. She was nervous as she looked around the house, as if she was invading someone's privacy, despite the fact that soon this would be her home as well. But it screamed of Lucius Malfoy and everything that he stood for. Money, power, male dominance… his Slytherin nature displayed through the colors and patterns. She didn't know how she was going to make a place for herself in a home where everything that she was stood out.

Slowly she returned to the second floor, looking over her room once more to make sure that her clothing hadn't suddenly reappeared. It hadn't and neither had her wand, which had been hidden in her robes the night before. If nothing else, she wished that she had that; she would feel more secure, less anxious over what would happen when she finally did find Lucius.

She was hesitant about going into Lucius's bedroom, her future bedroom, but she only knew where one other room was and she certainly didn't want to start wandering into unknown territory either. Malfoy Manor was not a place to be taken lightly. It had been home to generations of pureblood wizards; many dark pureblood wizards, who had left their mark on the house. Lucius had altered the wards to accept her presence, but there were still many rooms that would not admit her because they could sense her heritage. While her Gryffindor instincts encouraged to her to explore the Manor, to find out what was behind door number one, she had no desire to stumble upon something that she shouldn't. If Lucius wasn't in the library or his bedroom, then she would just go down to the sitting room and wait for him there. Someone would have to show up eventually.

---------------------

The first floor of the library was void of anything but books and for a moment Hermione considered staying in there instead of trying Lucius' bedroom. Eventually someone would notice her absence and the library seemed the obvious place to look for her. But that would be the coward's way out and Hermione was no coward. Of course, that didn't mean she couldn't look around for a little while before she began her search again. She had been dying for a chance to search the library ever since she had seen it. Three floors of beautiful rare books, surely this was what heaven looked like.

As Hermione looked over the texts, she couldn't help but be amazed. While the Malfoys owned many books she had already read, the Malfoy library also housed books she never believed she would have access to. The first floor alone made Hogwarts library begin to look less appealing in her eyes. The potion books far out-numbering the books from Hogwarts library, housing collections for alchemists that even the Ministry didn't have access too.

"If you're interested in potions, I'm sure I could persuade Severus to loan you some of his…_rarer_ texts." Hermione jumped at Lucius's soft voice in her ear. She turned around quickly only to find him standing right in front of her, leaving barely any room between the two of them.

"That's quite alright," Hermione said trying to calm her fast beating heart. "I wouldn't want to inconvenience him."

"I'm sure he wouldn't think of it as an inconvenience." He told her. She shivered slightly as his silky voice washed over her. She took a step backwards, her back hitting against the bookshelves, trying to distance herself from him.

Lucius smirked and took a step closer as well, closing the gap between them. It wasn't often, but it was at times like this that he almost wanted to thank the Minister for what he had given him. He enjoyed watching her shift nervously under his gaze. He liked that he was still able to intimidate her, despite her confident demeanor last night. "Have you noticed anything that you liked?" he asked, his tone indicating that he had.

"Yes," She said thankful that her voice came out evenly. "You have a beautiful collection."

"Malfoys pride themselves in surrounding themselves with great beauty," He said, lifting his arms to rest on the bookshelf on either side of her. "We accept nothing but the best." He drawled leaning his head closer to her. She could feel his breath tickling her ear.

"I wouldn't have expected anything else." Hermione said breathlessly. He was much closer then he had ever been before. Last night he had been close, closer then she would have thought he would have been in years past, but that had been in a room full of people. She had known that it was just for show. She had felt secure there, knowing that even if he wanted to, he couldn't do anything.

Now, alone in a room with him, wearing nothing but a flimsy nightgown, her wand not at her side, she didn't know what to expect of him, what she should be feeling right now. Because as much as she would like to believe that he would never hurt her, she knew she didn't know him enough to know anything for certain about him. And as much as a part of her feared his action for fear of him hurting her, part of her feared his actions because the look in his eyes wasn't full of hate, it was full of amusement, as if he was enjoying himself. She had seen that look in his eyes the night before, whenever he made her shudder at his touch, whenever she matched a veiled insult with one of her own, whenever she came up with an idea that he agreed to, she had seen that same look in his eyes. She didn't know what it meant. She didn't know if she wanted to.

"Father, I looked downstairs, but I couldn't find Granger anywhere…"

Hermione's head snapped to the right to see Draco standing in the doorway. He was openly staring at the both of them, obviously surprised to see them in such a position. Hermione felt the heat rising to her cheeks, realizing what this must look like, what it might actually be.

"I was able to find her quite quickly." Lucius told him. He still hadn't moved, despite Draco's presence in the room, and Hermione wasn't quite sure what to do. While Lucius's position hadn't changed; he was now staring intently at Draco as if he was angry at him for interrupting. Hermione wasn't sure if she was grateful or disappointed, as she would never know what Lucius was about to do. What that look in his eyes meant.

"You were looking for me?" Hermione asked bring Lucius's attention back to her.

"Yes," Lucius said his eyes moving from Draco's to hers. "We sent Pippy to inform you about breakfast. When she returned saying that your rooms were empty, we were worried that you had wandered off into one of the…_darker_ rooms in the manor."

Hermione barely suppressed a snort. She was positive that the two of them weren't worried, more like hoping that one of those darker rooms had swallowed her whole. If they _were_ worried, it was probably only that she would stumble upon something that they didn't want her to see.

"I was actually looking for you, too." Hermione said, "But I only know where a limited number of rooms are and when I checked in here I became a bit…distracted."

"I noticed." Lucius said with a smirk.

"Well, now that we all found each other, perhaps we should go down to breakfast." Draco said looking back and forth between the two. Neither had moved from the position that he had found them in and Lucius seemed quite comfortable with being so close to her. There was no sneer or malice in his words, nor had there been in the moments before Draco had let his presence be known.

"If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to have my clothes first." Hermione said.

"By the time we are done eating, the house-elves will have returned your clothes." Lucius said taking her hand and placing into the crook of his arm.

----------------------

Hermione noticed Draco staring back and forth between herself and his father as she ate her meal. She could only imagine what he was thinking after walking in on them in the library. She didn't even know what to think about it.

She looked across the table to Lucius eating silently, ignoring the other occupants of the table as he added more salt to his eggs. She wondered if this was what every breakfast would be like. Every meal, for that matter. The three of them there together but completely separate. The three of them judging each other, the way they moved, the way they sat, the way they prepared their eggs until one day she would no longer be there to compare. She wondered if she would grow to miss it then. She wondered if after living here, anything but silence while eating her meals would feel wrong.

"You've barely touched your meal, Miss Granger." Lucius said. "Was it not to your liking?"

Hermione looked up to see that both he and Draco had already cleared their plates. "I'm just not that hungry." Hermione said pushing her plate away.

"Understandable," He said, standing up from the table. "I'll walk you back to your room."

Hermione nodded in response and stood up from the table, following Lucius out of the room.

"Your clothes should have been returned to your room." he said as they ascended the staircase.

"Thank you." Hermione said quietly.

"Perhaps you should move some of your clothing to the manor, if you intend to make falling asleep here a habit." He told her.

"It's not an action I intend to repeat until I have to." Hermione snapped angrily. She was upset at herself enough as it was for being dim-witted enough to fall asleep, she didn't need him rubbing it in farther.

"However, that time will be here soon." Lucius said, "Perhaps we should begin to think about you moving your own things in."

"I suppose so."

"Have you started packing?"

"No, not yet," Hermione said. "I had originally thought that I would have more time and the last few days have been busy dealing with other things. I haven't had the opportunity to start."

"Perhaps you should make sure you have the time to get around it," He said as they stopped in front of her door. "There is something that I would like to speak with you about. I'll wait out here until you are done."

Hermione nodded her head before entering her room, closing and locking the door behind her. The last thing she wanted was him forcing his way in here, not that a lock would stop him of course, but it made her feel more secure.

Her clothes were laid out on the bed, clean and pressed, her wand lying next to them. She couldn't wait to get out of this nightgown and into clothes that made her feel confident again. It had been hard to act like nothing was bothering her when the only thing she could concentrate on was how little clothing she was actually wearing.

She quickly changed back into her jeans and blouse, stashing her wand in her pocket where it was easily accessible, before quickly exiting the room. The sooner she talked to Lucius the sooner she could get back to her own flat, away from all of the Malfoys.

As soon as Lucius saw her, he turned and started down the hallway leaving Hermione to follow him. He stopped in front of library, glancing back to make sure she was still with him, before he entered.

"Take a seat." He said, gesturing to one of the chairs as he sat down in the other.

"What exactly is it that you want to talk about?" Hermione asked, taking her seat.

"I would like to take you to dinner." He said.

"I…uhh…What?" Hermione asked unsure of what to say. She had many thoughts about what this conversation would be about, but she certainly hadn't been expecting him to ask her that.

"Now that our _relationship_ has been made public knowledge, it will be expected of us to be seen out together." He explained. "It will make people suspicious if we are only seen together in groups and we wouldn't want people to get suspicious, would we?"

"Of course not." Hermione replied almost bitterly. Honestly, she couldn't care less if people didn't believe their marriage to be one of love. Maybe people would be able to look her in the eye again.

"It will also give us an opportunity to _talk_," He drawled. "An opportunity to learn more about each other."

Hermione raised an eyebrow, still skeptical about his reasoning for doing this. The Lucius Malfoy she knew always had an ulterior motive for what he was doing, or no other choice. This was his idea, which meant he had a choice, so what was his ulterior motive this time?

"Unless of course you have some reason as to why you wouldn't have dinner with me?" he asked, the challenge evident in his eyes.

"Of course not," She said meeting his gaze. "When should I expect you?"

She wouldn't let him intimidate her, wouldn't let him see weakness in her; she had already made that promise to herself. She just didn't realize that it was her pride that was letting him manipulate her.

-----------------------------

Hermione apparated into her flat, sighing in relief, happy to finally be alone. She was tired of having to put up her defenses to make sure she didn't look weak in front of Lucius. There was no need to be on guard in her own home.

"Hem-hem." Or maybe there was.

Hermione turned around slowly and saw Ginny leaning against the doorway leading to her kitchen, a questioning look in her eyes.

"Hey Gin," Hermione said with a forced smile. "What are you doing here?"

"We were supposed to meet a half an hour ago to go dress shopping." Ginny told her.

"Right Ginny, I completely forgot." She said cringing. She had forgotten that she had convinced Ginny to go with her today. They both needed to find their dresses for the wedding and she had hoped that Ginny would be able to help find a dress that she would like, but would still be appropriate for such a large wedding. If it was up to Hermione, it would be a simple dress, the kind you would wear for a small garden wedding, the type of wedding she had always imagined she would have.

"I can see that," Ginny said her eyes narrowing suspiciously. "Where exactly were you?"

"Umm…"

"And isn't that the dress I helped pick out for last night?" she asked, snatching the dress bag out of her hands. "Where were you exactly? You didn't…I mean you wouldn't have…You didn't spend the night _there_ did you?"

"Well, technically—"

"Hermione!"

"Ginny, do you honestly think I would have spent the night there if I had a choice?" she asked.

"Well, no…" Ginny said her face softening.

"That's because I wouldn't. I fell asleep on the couch and Lucius moved me up to the guest bedroom. Nothing else happened."

"You sure?"

"Of course I am." Hermione said trying to sound more confident then she was. She decided it was probably best not to tell her about what happened in the library this morning.

"Sorry," Ginny said. "I overreacted. It's a Weasley thing."

"Trust me, I learned that a while ago." Hermione said with a small smile.

"Yeah, well just be glad that it was me who came over and overreacted and not Ron." Ginny said. "You should have heard him and Harry last night."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.

"Well, I stopped over at their flat last night after my shift at St. Mungo's was over because I left my purse there and they had just gotten home from the engagement party."

"What did they say?"

"Well according to Ron, Lucius was a little too close for comfort." Ginny said.

"He was just doing that to annoy them." Hermione said, "Obviously it worked."

"And Harry said you seemed upset at dinner." Ginny said slowly. "Did something happen you want to talk about?"

"No, I'm fine." Hermione said forcing a smile.

"Are you sure?" Ginny asked.

"I just…Ginny, are any of you ever going to be okay with this?"

"What do you mean?"

"I watched Harry and Ron last night, they were so….uncomfortable and unprepared to see me with him. And just now, when I came home I saw the look in your eye when you realized where I had been. Is that how it's always going to be? After everything that happened in your first year, in the years following, are you going to be able to stand up there, next to Draco, and watch me marry him?"

"I'll never forgive him for what he did." Ginny said quietly. "But I made peace with what happened. I was forced to do that when he joined the Order. And as much as I never thought he would have…He has done a lot of good, even if it wasn't always for the right reason. And without him winning the war, well, it would have taken much longer. Somehow that trumps whatever happened to me."

"Thanks Ginny," Hermione said with a smile. "I'll be less nervous if I know you're at least semi-okay with this."

"Hermione…"

"Yes?" she asked.

"You need to stop worrying about what everyone else is going to think. I can accept that you're marrying him, the real question is, can you?"

"Everything's going to be fine." Hermione lied. "I believe that. I'm just going to go get changed."

"Okay." Ginny said quietly. She could tell that Hermione wasn't being honest with her, that she wasn't being honest with herself, but she wasn't going to push it. Sometimes denial was better then having the truth thrust upon you. Eventually, Hermione would take the time to realize her feelings about this marriage and Ginny would be there for her then. That was all she could do.

"I'll be back in a minute." Hermione said hurrying into her bedroom.

As Hermione changed, she couldn't help but wish she could spend this day doing anything else. She had barely had a chance to recover from the night before and now she had to deal with more wedding plans. And she knew how muggles treated the women in bridal shops. She wasn't sure if she was up for that. But then again, she had had little choice in the matter so far, why should feelings start to matter now?

-----------------------------

"How about this one?" Ginny asked, picking a dress up off the rack.

"Ginny that's not a wedding dress, that's not even a whole dress." Hermione told her, shaking her head.

"Yeah, but can you imagine the look on Minister Trimble's face, if you walked down the aisle in it?" Ginny asked her face lighting up, "Or Mr. Malfoy's for that matter?"

Hermione couldn't help but laugh in agreement, shaking her head at her friend. She could only imagine the reactions that it would get. "Come on Gin." Hermione said, pulling her further into the bridal store. "Let's find a dress that won't result in me being thrown into prison for angering the Minister of Magic."

"Good idea." Ginny said.

"Hello, can I help you two find anything?" A saleswoman asked coming up to them.

"Actually, yes." Ginny said, "My friend here is getting married and needs a dress."

"That's wonderful!" The woman said, "Any particular style you were looking for?"

"I'm not really sure." Ginny said, "Hermione?"

But Hermione wasn't listening. Her eyes had strayed to a young woman and her mother in front of the dressing room. The woman was glowing in her gown as her mother told her how beautiful she looked. A wave of sadness hit Hermione full force, but she couldn't force herself to look away.

She had never been the type to fantasize of a dream wedding, but there were certain things she had always thought that would be there. Like her mother and her father. She had always assumed that it would be her mother helping her pick out her wedding gown, fighting over necklines and the amount of lace, she had never stopped to consider otherwise. Her father was supposed to be fighting with her to allow him to walk her down the aisle, despite her feelings on the tradition. It was her father's right after all, to give his daughter away, he would have told her. But eventually she would have won the fight, convincing her father that she was her own woman and that she would rather give the representation that this was a decision of her own making, and walked down the aisle unaccompanied. But Hermione would never have wanted to have won the fight this way; she never wanted not to have the choice.

"Hermione? Hermione are you with us?" Ginny asked.

"What? I'm sorry, what did you say?" Hermione asked looking back at her companion.

"I asked what you thought of this one." Ginny asked holding up the ivory dress next to her. She had sent the saleswoman away when she realized that Hermione's heart wasn't completely in this and the woman might be a little too peppy for either of their liking. "Isn't it lovely?"

"I don't know." Hermione said slowly. "Isn't it…isn't it rather poofy. I mean I just…I always imagined getting married in a different kind of dress. One with a train….I don't know. I'm being silly, I guess. It doesn't matter now; nothing about this marriage is what I thought it would be."

------------------------

Ginny watched Hermione from across the store. They had already been to three different bridal shops and Hermione had tried on dozens of dresses, but she hadn't really liked anything. She had come up with excuse after excuse to why each dress was wrong. Ginny was almost scared to approach her with the dress she had found.

She knew that it was perfect for her. She knew she would love it, but she also knew she would resent it. She knew that while she would long for it, and maybe even buy it, it would always be a symbol of what this wedding truly was.

Because as Hermione stood in front of the mirror, looking beautiful in the dress Ginny had found for her, on the inside it was killing her. Because this beautiful dress that Lucius's money had allowed her to buy, was just one more thing that he had taken away from her.

-------------------------------

Lucius raised his hand to knock on Hermione's door, scowling at his surroundings. Hermione's flat left much to be desired; Malfoy Manor would certainly be more than just a step up when she moved. In fact, as he looked around he was surprised that she hadn't asked to move in sooner.

"Hello," Hermione said quietly as she opened the door. She was still in her dressing robe, this one much longer than the one he had provided, though her hair was already done. "Come in." she said gesturing her arm towards her setting room. "I just need a few moments and then I'll be ready."

"Of course." he said. Hermione quickly made into her room, glancing behind her as if she was having second thoughts, before she shut the door behind her.

Normally, Lucius would have been disapproving of the fact that she wasn't ready for their evening; however, this would give him an opportunity to look around. Some of her things were already packed away into boxes, but it seemed that her more personal items had been left out. There were several photographs on the mantel; one of her and the Weasley girl at what appeared to be the red-head's graduation, another was of her when she was just a small child, not more then ten, with whom he could only assume were her parents. Both he knew to be casualties of the war, though he had never been informed of what happened to them. There were three more pictures after that, two of her with Harry and Ron, the _precious_ golden trio, one from their school days and one much more recent, and the last picture was of her and the Oliver Wood. He couldn't help but sneer; she was draped all over him and he couldn't have seen happier, both too involved in each other to realize the photograph was being taken.

"Sorry," Hermione said, coming out of her bedroom. She didn't even notice him turn away from her photos. "I wasn't expecting you until later. Normally I'm on time."

"It's quite alright; it gave me time to get acquainted with your apartment." He said, looking her up and down. She was wearing dark red dressrobes, cut tastefully to show just enough cleavage and just enough leg. "What will you do with it after you move into the manor?"

"Nothing," She explained, "Ginny's going to be moving in to take care of it until after the divorce."

"Six years is a long time," He told her, "If she marries in that time, what will happen to it then?"

"We'll deal with it then." Hermione said with a small smile. A part of her still hoped that this marriage would be over before it had the chance to begin. Giving up her apartment would only cement the idea that she was putting her life on hold for six years, and even when she did come back, everything would be different.

-------------------------------------

Lucius took Hermione's hand in his own and turned, apparating them both to a street in Diagon Ally. When Hermione opened her eyes, she saw that they were in front of an expensive restaurant that she had never noticed before. But then again, usually when she had been Diagon Ally, it hadn't been in search of a restaurant it had been in search of supplies for school.

"Come along." He said pulling at her hand.

Lucius spoke briefly with the host, who instantly recognized him, before the owner of the restaurant came out to lead them to their table. Hermione felt self-conscious as she clutched Lucius's hand tightly as they were lead through the dinning room. It seemed as if everyone's eyes were now on the two of them. She didn't want to show him weakness but it was better then showing the entire restaurant just how uncomfortable they were making her. She could feel the hate radiating off of them. Hate for her and for her decision to marry Lucius. She wanted to tell them that she wasn't in love with him. She wanted to scream that she was only doing this because she had too. But she didn't. Her pride wouldn't allow her to announce to the world that she had been strong-armed into this. She couldn't handle that.

The owner pulled out her seat, and Lucius took his own. They spoke for a few more moments in French before the owner left to put their orders in.

"I ordered you—"

"The chicken." Hermione finished, "I understood what you said to him. If I hadn't liked it I would have said something." She told him.

"I wasn't aware you spoke French." Lucius said. He had expected her to need his assistance in understanding the French menu; that was why he had taken the liberty to order for her. He hadn't wanted to go over everything in the menu as he had been sure she would have wanted him to. Apparently, that hadn't been necessary.

"Isn't that what this meal is about?" Hermione asked raising an eyebrow. "An opportunity to learn more about each other."

"That is what I said, isn't it?"

"Word for word, I believe." She told him. She enjoyed the fact that she was able to take him by surprise. She was going to use that to her advantage.

"What exactly would you like to know?" he asked. That was what this evening was to be about. It was specifically what he had planned when he had suggested dinner, finding out her weaknesses, what buttons to push when he wanted things to go his way. To find out what social skills needed to be corrected before he pushed her further into higher society. He just hadn't expected her to turn it around on him. Sometimes, he preferred unintelligent women. And unintelligent Hermione certainly was not.

If Hermione was honest with herself, she wasn't sure what to ask him. There were so many questions she wanted answered, and there were so many questions that she was sure she never wanted to know the answers to. She didn't want to know something that she couldn't forget.

"Exactly how many of the books in your library have you read?" Best to start off with something unthreatening.

"At least three-fourths," he said, tipping his head to the left. He had obviously not expected her to ask that question. "If not more."

"Certainly more then a respectable amount." She agreed.

"I wonder why you asked that." He said, looking carefully at her.

"Anyone can have a library full of books, but not everyone takes the time to read them. Not everyone holds the intelligence to." She said. "I'm just trying to figure out who I'm dealing with."

"As am I," he said. "There was a photograph on your mantel."

"Several, actually." She said. She hadn't realized that he had looked at them.

"One was of you when you were a child." He said and Hermione stiffened, she didn't like the direction this conversation was heading. So much for the upper hand. "It was your parents that you were with?" he asked.

"Yes." She replied curtly.

"I was never informed what happened to them," Lucius said, "They were both casualties of the war, I suppose."

"Yes." she repeated. She would have been happy to leave it at that but he continued watching her. It was clear in his gaze that he wanted to know what had happened to them. And as much as it pained her to admit it, as her future husband, it would look suspicious if he didn't know about them.

"They were killed the summer before seventh year." She said quietly, "I had convinced Dumbledore to let me go home and visit for a few weeks before I went to stay at headquarters with everyone else. I had been there two days when my mother sent me to the store to pick up a few things. When I came back I saw the Dark Mark hovering over my house and found my parents inside…well, most of them anyway." Hermione said looking down at her napkin. "Dumbledore said that it was my mother that saved me…I never quite looked at it like that."

"Dumbledore kept it quiet for awhile, but it got leaked eventually and by the time I got back to Hogwarts everyone knew." She explained, "That's what cemented the mutual dislike between me and your son. He made one too many orphan jokes and I hexed what he considered to be a valuable and necessary part of his body."

"That information was never shared with me." He told her.

"I'm not surprised," She said, "I don't think he was too forthcoming to anyone about that."

"I think I'm going to go use the restroom before dinner comes." Hermione said forcing a small smile in Lucius direction. She had never liked talking about her parent's death, especially with people she knew would be less then caring. It still hurt; thinking about that day still made her want to cry and that was something she never wanted to do in front of Lucius.

"Excuse me." She said standing up. Lucius stood as well watching her as she made her way to the other side of the restaurant, towards the restroom.

She quickly wiped the tears from her parents memories had caused her before turning on the faucet and splashing water on her face. This was definitely one of those times she was glad that she didn't wear makeup. It was easier to hide what you were feeling when there weren't trails of mascara going down your cheeks.

Hermione turned the water off and looked up into the mirror. So much for not letting him get to her. She turned to get a towel only to see one extended to her. "Thank you." She told the woman quietly accepting the towel.

"Enjoying your dinner, Hermione?" The woman asked.

"How do you know my name?" Hermione asked, turning around.

"Everyone knows your name, honey." She said with a sneer. "It comes with the territory of marrying Lucius Malfoy, whomever lacks the proper intelligence to stop themselves from doing such a thing."

"My marriage has nothing to so with you." Hermione said, raising her chin defiantly. She should have known as soon as she saw her. Some people didn't know to leave well enough alone. "Now, if you would please step out of my way, my fiancé is waiting for me." She moved to step around her, knowing it was better to avoid confrontation when she herself didn't believe in the marriage, but the woman stepped in front of her.

"Do you really think he's changed?" she asked. "Do you believe all the lies he's been whispering in your ears? How can you be with him when you know what he's done? How can you stand to have his hands on you when you know he's killed with them?"

"You don't know what you're talking about." Hermione told her.

"Oh, I think I do." She said stepping closer. "Cause see, I knew plenty of those people who he and his precious lord killed for no better reason than they felt like it. And you, a supposed war hero, to associate with him, it makes it seem like it's all okay and it's not, what he did will never be okay."

Hermione closed her eyes briefly, telling herself not to listen to this woman, that Lucius had paid his dues, that he had changed sides. But repeating things to yourself doesn't mean that you believe what you're saying.

"Look, I understand why you're upset." Hermione said, "I get it, I do. I lost a lot of people I loved in the war too. But Lucius and I are getting married. And you may not agree with my marriage, but that gives you no right to talk about me or him that way. We're getting married whether anyone likes it or not; its time we all got used to that and just moved on."

Hermione stepped around the older woman, leaving the bathroom and quickly returning to the dinning room. The woman's words were still ringing in her head. Could she ever learn to accept Lucius after everything that he had done? Did she really want too?

"Are you feeling alright?" Lucius asked, as she sat down at the table.

"I'm fine." Hermione lied, smiling at him. Had she already?

-------------------------------

After dinner, Lucius suggested they wander about town, hoping for more people to see the two of them together. Hermione had absentmindedly agreed, her head still too confused by her thoughts to comprehend completely what was going on around her.

She had distanced herself from Lucius as they ate their meal; she had walked slightly farther away from him than necessary as they looked in the windows of the shops, and she remained silent in his presence, as she contemplated everything that had been happening.

The engagement, the contract, the wedding….Everything had happened so quickly, and she was still trying to catch up. She had never allowed herself to really think about it, pushing thoughts of it away, telling herself that she had to be strong in order to survive. The last time she had allowed herself to cry had been when she had gone to Harry and Ron's the night she had signed the contract, that had been the last time that she had allowed herself completely to fight what was going on, to have hope that everything would be okay even if she knew it wouldn't. She had locked it all away after that, constantly planning and making lists, packing and doing things, resulting in sleepless nights and nightmares of what she wouldn't allow herself to fear was to come. But the woman in the bathroom, too cowardly to supply her with a name, had brought everything forward, pushing it to the front of her mind. And Hermione wanted nothing more to push it back in again, to make it go back into hiding. Because allowing herself to accept it made it real, and she so desperately wanted this not to be real.

Lucius appeared behind her, Hermione could see a faint reflection of him in the window she was looking in and she could tell from his stance that he wasn't happy. She imagined her freezing him out wasn't what he had wanted to public to see. But instead of the anger that she had expected, the harsh words of criticism whispered so only she could hear, he came closer behind her, tugging on her arms slightly and pulling her to his chest, wrapping his arms around her waist. Hermione felt like she had stopped breathing.

"What are you doing?" she hissed at him. She didn't like this. People were all around, they could see them, and she couldn't tell him to stop. But he was so close, she could feel his breath on her, but she couldn't see him, she couldn't tell what he was thinking. No, she didn't like this at all.

"Acting as if being near you doesn't appall me." He whispered into her ear. "You should try the same. Really, Hermione, how do you expect anyone to believe us as a couple, when you won't get within three feet of me?"

"There is a difference between believable couple and conjoined at the hip."

"But usually not in your relationships." He told her. "Certainly not with Mr. Wood." She cringed at the accusation in his voice. "Nor with Mr. Weasley or Mr. Williams—"

"What exactly is your point?" she snapped.

"Your past relationships have lacked a certain amount of decorum. You have never expressed care over what the press or anyone else thinks of you."

"You've been checking up on me?" she asked.

"If your behavior was to suddenly change," he continued ignoring her, "People might—"

"Become suspicious?" She finished for him. "That does seem to be your answer for everything."

"I'm hardly asking for much." He told her. "Just your hand in mine, to prove to the public that I have not angered my wife-to-be. We will save everything else for after the wedding." He purred. Hermione shivered at his words as he dropped his hands and stepped away from her. She slowly turned around, pushing thoughts of the wedding night far from her mind.

He offered her his hand and she couldn't help but flash back to the woman in the restroom. _How can you stand to have his hands on you when you know he's killed with them? _She stared at it for a moment, before placing her much smaller one of it in his. This was happening whether she liked it or not. She had agreed to do this, now she just had to accept it.

-------------------------

The next day their evening was in the papers; pictures of them together, outlandish tales of their 'love' and how Lucius Malfoy had changed. The Minister's plan was working. People were finally beginning to believe in this marriage, to believe that if Lucius Malfoy, pureblood of all purebloods, could change, then anything was possible.

But as the wizarding community slowly began to accept the idea of a marriage so unexpected, Hermione became even more uncertain of it. She knew what Lucius was like. She knew that he hadn't given up his pureblood elitist ways. She knew that if he had a choice, he would never marry her. She knew that he may have learned to tolerate her, but he certainly didn't love her as the papers said.

And while Hermione lost more and more sleep over it each night, guilt ridden in the role that she was playing in this lie, Lucius smirked, because he was one step further in his plan.

----------------------------------

The rehearsal was simple enough. Lucius stood there. Ginny would stand there. Minister Trimble was to stand where everyone could see him. Hermione would make her entrance as the music magically began to play. The Minister would speak, they would recite their vows, and it would all be over. Hermione Granger would disappear and Hermione Malfoy would be born.

"You'll kiss," The Minister continued, oblivious to the bride's lack of attention, "And then go back down the aisle, shortly followed by Miss Weasley and Draco. Does everyone understand?"

"Most of us understood it the first three times you explained it." Draco sneered.

"Is that everything?" Lucius asked.

"I believe so." The Minister said, "The house-elves will finish setting up in the morning, and everything that has already been set up will be magically protected for the night."

"Good." Hermione said quietly. "Then I think will be leaving." She said detangling her hand from Lucius. She had been forced to take it as the Minister explained the ceremony. It only served as a reminder as to what else she would be forced to do after the ceremony tomorrow.

"Yes, I'm sure you all have things to attend to," Minister Trimble said with a large smile, "I'll see you all tomorrow then."

"Tomorrow." Lucius repeated his face impassive. "Miss Weasley, Hermione." He said with a nod of acknowledgement before he apparated away. Draco just sneered at them both before he followed.

"Going home?" Ginny asked Hermione quietly. The Minister had moved to a different area, but she had never quite trusted him.

"Yes, Harry and Ron should be there soon." Hermione said with a smile. "I figure we'd spend one last night together, like the old days. I'm sure they won't want to hang around the manor much, not with Lucius and Draco there."

"I'm sure you'll still see plenty of them." Ginny said, trying to sound encouraging. She knew that none of them would ever give up on Hermione's friendship, but she also knew that it would be harder once she was married. Especially because of whom she was marrying.

"I know," Hermione said looking over the decorations. "But everything will be different then."

She just wanted one last day of being Hermione Granger, brightest witch to ever attend Hogwarts, best-friend to the Boy-Who-Conquered and Ron Weasley, before she became Hermione Malfoy, wife by law to Lucius, step-mother to her childhood enemy, and hated by the wizarding community and herself, for allowing this to happen.

"Have fun with the boys," Ginny said with a large smile. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow." Hermione said quietly, too absorbed in her thoughts to turn around as Ginny apparated out. Tomorrow everything would be different.

-----------------------------

"To one last night before Miss Granger becomes a Malfoy." Severus said raising his glass of scotch.

"Yes, one last night before the invasion." Lucius agreed.

"That is certainly one way to think of it," Severus said with a small chuckle. "It seems as if it wasn't that long ago that we were preparing for your last marriage."

"And yet in that time we have never prepared for one of your own." Lucius smirked.

"If I remember correctly, both of your brides have been chosen for you." Severus said, "If I was to marry, I would prefer to choose a bride of my own."

"Don't be ridiculous," Lucius said, "Arranged marriages make everything much simpler. You don't have to go through the dreadful process of courting, nor are you forced to lie to them in order to get what you want."

"I'll have to take your word on that," Severus said. He wasn't surprised that that was Lucius's perspective on the idea. "Draco seems oddly quiet tonight." He said nodding in his direction.

"He has been like that all day." Lucius said pouring himself another drink. Draco had been sulking the last few days. He knew that he had never thought this marriage would happen. That Draco had thought that Lucius would find a way out of it, a loophole I the contract, and Lucius had never corrected him. If Draco was too much in denial to see what was in front of his face, he would have to deal with it when it was shoved even closer.

"I assume he is upset with the marriage." Severus said.

"Of course I'm upset with the marriage." Draco said finally speaking up. "How can I not be upset by it? How can you _not_ be upset with it? I can't believe that you're going through with it."

"I don't know why it comes as such a surprise to you. I have done nothing to say otherwise." Lucius said.

"You forget Father, I was here when you came home from meeting with Dumbledore. I was there the night of the engagement party when you realized that she wasn't going to be as easy to control as you thought. You shattered so many vases that even the house-elves couldn't put them back together."

"I have accepted this for what it is," Lucius ground out. "You should too."

"Why? So the Minister can get what he wants again? So Granger can spend six years annoying me even more?"

"No, you will accept it because I told you to do so," Lucius said standing up. "Just as you will stand up there tomorrow, with a smile on your face, because I told you to do so. Just as I will stand up with a smile on my own, as will she. No one here likes this arrangement. No one here would have chosen it. But whether any of us like it, these are the cards that we have been dealt, and as Malfoys we will all move on and accept that. If you are incapable of doing that, then you will pretend that you are. Do I make myself clear?"

"Perfectly." Draco said with a sneer, whipping around and hurrying out of the study.

Lucius turned back to Severus who had raised an eyebrow. "Another drink?" He asked, extending a now full glass of brandy.

Lucius sneered at his old friend before accepting the glass.

------------------------

"Hey Hermione?" Ron called.

"Yes?" Hermione said coming into the setting-room

"Why's this picture of you and Oliver face down?" Ron asked picking it up.

"I don't know." Hermione said quietly. She didn't remember doing that.

"You're sure you're not upset about everything that happened between then two of you?" He asked, "I mean, with the wedding and all."

"Well, I was never exactly thrilled with how it ended," Hermione said taking the picture from it. She and Oliver looked so happy together, so carefree. She couldn't help but wonder if she would feel like that again. "But I'm not angry with him. I would have reacted the same way…Honestly, I haven't thought all the much about what happened with him. I haven't had the time too."

"Maybe it's better that way." She said placing the photograph back on the mantel face down. She didn't know who had done it, but maybe it was for the best. She was moving into a new phase in her life; it would only be harder if she dragged the past with her.

"So, what exactly are we supposed to be doing tonight?" Harry asked, coming out of the kitchen. "Ron and I might not have been the best choice for companions for your bachelorette party."

"Unless you had something strange in mind and you didn't tell us." Ron said with a smile.

"No," Hermione said, throwing a pillow at him. "I just thought it might be nice to have one last night of normality before..."

"You marry the devil." Ron interjected.

"Ron, he's not the devil."

"Devil's advocate, then?" Harry asked.

"Guys, please. Can we not talk about this tonight?" Hermione asked. "I don't want this night to be about my life with Lucius. I'm going to have to deal with that soon enough. Can we just….can we just pretend that that isn't the reason that we're here? Can we just act like this is a normal night of the two of you coming over to raid my fridge? Please?"

"If that's what you want, then we'll do it Hermione." Harry said quietly. "But are you sure that's what you want?" He asked, his eyes searching her face questioningly.

"Yeah, that's what I want." Hermione said with a sad smile.

As Hermione fell asleep that night, happily squashed on the couch between the two of them, she clung to their hands, wishing that when she woke up, it wouldn't just be pretend.

* * *

**_A/N: So there it is guys. Sorry it took so long to get out life has just been really crazy these last few months and I've barely had time to sleep, let alone write. But hopefully you'll like this and the extra length will make up for the long wait. _**

**_Thank you so much for all the reviews. You guys are so incredibly nice and I really appreciate your guys input. Please keep reviewing! Suggestions for plot ideas and guesses of what will happen are always welcome. I love to hear what you guys want to happen. _**

**_Big thanks to my beta Emma. She's absolutely wonderful and brilliant at it! _******

**_Next chapter's the wedding, so stay tuned! _**


	7. Chapter Six

_**Chapter Six: **_

August twelfth was a beautiful day. The sun could be seen high up in the sky, the weather was comfortably warm, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and no threat of rain as Hermione had hoped there would be. Hermione crying at the altar because of her ruined wedding day, was easier to explain than the truth. But it seemed the heavens were against her as much as the rest of the world. The day was perfect for a wedding, especially one of such caliber.

It was perfect. Her dress was perfect. Her make-up was perfect. Even her damn shoes were perfect. Everything was perfect except for the man. Hermione felt the urge to laugh at the injustice of it all. The one day England decided against rain was the day she wanted to do nothing more then cry herself. She was wearing the most beautiful dress she had ever seen, but she couldn't bring herself to care. She was the image of the perfect bride, and she couldn't be more disgusted with herself because of it.

She had allowed this to happen. She had allowed herself to be talked into marrying a man who looked down on her. She had allowed herself to be condemned to a fate that she had never wanted. She had allowed this to happen and she despised herself for that.

"You look beautiful." A voice said from the doorway. She turned around to see Harry leaning against the doorway, giving her the best attempt of a smile he could. He didn't understand why she was doing this; she didn't think he ever would, but he was doing his best to be supportive, just like any good friend should.

"Thank you," Hermione said with a shaky smile. "You don't look too bad yourself."

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Of course I am," She said. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because you're about to walk down the aisle to your doom." He said.

"Don't be overly dramatic, Harry." She said, moving over to the vanity that Ginny had done her make-up at what seemed like hours ago.

"I don't think I'm being dramatic; I think I'm being truthful," He said. "Hermione, we all know what he's capable of."

"He's not Voldemort, Harry." She said defensively.

"But he's no saint either. His wife left him because she almost died, Hermione. Do you really want the same thing to happen to you?"

"That was different and you know it." She said, "That was a different time. Things have changed since then, you _know_ that."

"All I know is that the Hermione Granger I know would fight this. She would not walk down that aisle willingly, no matter what the cost." Harry exclaimed.

"Don't, don't do it, Harry." She said, "If you give me a chance to back out then I'll want to take it. And I'll curse myself for not taking it every time the marriage becomes too hard handle. So don't, Harry. Just don't."

"Hermione…"

"The wedding's going to start soon," She told him, "You should go take your seat." She turned back to the mirror, pretending to smooth out folds that both knew weren't there.

She heard him pause in the doorway and she knew that he was watching her, trying to think of something, anything, to keep her from doing this but a moment later she heard his footsteps continue. She waited until she could no longer hear his footsteps before she let the first teardrop fall.

Lucius was silent as he checked his appearance in the mirror one last time. His black dressrobes were trimmed with green and small amounts of gold could be seen, a symbol of the union of two rival houses. While the wedding was dominated by emerald greens, he had agreed to small amounts of gold as well when Hermione had refused to have both Slytherin colors at her wedding.

He sneered at the gold ribbon in his hands before using it to tie back his hair with more force than was necessary. Right now he wished for nothing more than a dozen vases to shatter. That at least would leave him with a feeling of fulfillment, a sense that he had control over what was about to happen, what _was_ happening.

The weight of what this day meant for him seemed to be crashing down upon him. This day would change everything, for Draco, for Hermione, for the Malfoy name, for himself…. It had taken him longer than he cared to admit to get over Narcissa's unexpected departure from his life. It had hurt his pride, his name, and worst of all, himself. He had never claimed to be the perfect husband, to have always made the best decisions, but he had always put his family first, held them above everything else, but that had never mattered to Narcissa. Very little, other than herself, had ever matter to Narcissa. She like to play the victim, but she had been just as involved, just as willing, when it came to the Dark Lord. Her attack was just the reason that she had used to leave. If it had not happened, she would have found another reason to go.

It had taken time to regain fully what had been lost when she left, to live down the whispers and wild rumors. He hated to think what the same people would say six years from now when his second wife, a lowly mudblood that he had brought into their presence, left him as well. Her background did have its advantages in the political world, but it had its downfalls as well. His mind never allowed him to forget that. And his son would remind him, if he ever did start to forget.

There was a knock on the door and Lucius turned to see Severus in the doorway. "You know, it's not too late to flee the country." He told him, "I'm sure Miss Granger would not mind. She might even send you a gift in thanks."

"But where is the fun in fleeing?" Lucius asked with a smirk. "I think we both know I can create much more havoc by staying than I ever could by leaving."

"Yes, it does seem that way," Severus said quietly. "I was instructed by the Minister to tell you its time for you to come outside. Normally, I would have just ignored him, but I thought it might be better if I came then if he sent Draco."

"Most likely," Lucius told him. "Draco has been under the false impression for some time now that Narcissa is coming back. I believe that it why he objects so vehemently to this wedding."

"He does have his share number of reasons, too." Severus said.

"So does Hermione, but you don't see her throwing things." He said.

"No, that would be you wouldn't it?" Severus asked with a raised eyebrow. Lucius fought the urge to hex him and sneered instead.

"I find myself rather happy that it is Draco serving as my best man at this wedding instead of you." Lucius said removing invisible lint from his robes. "Perhaps it was your presence at my last wedding that should have foretold its ending."

"Perhaps," Severus said, "However, my presence at this one will not affect your marriage. We both know how this one will end."

"Let us go." Lucius said quickly striding towards the door.

His last marriage had been arranged as well, however that time the woman he was marrying wanted to marry him. Neither of them had been distraught over the idea. Narcissa may have been his only option, but she was more then happy to have him and he her. They had known each other for years and it came to no surprise to either of them when that fateful day had come. But Hermione Granger was someone entirely different. He had heard her name since Draco had started school, heard about the girl doing better than his son in every subject, the girl who helped save the Boy-who-lived again and again, the girl the Dark Lord had grown to hate for what she had represented, but he had never known her. He had seen her at the Order meetings, had sneered at her and her friends' naïve and foolish ways, but had never deemed her worthy of talking too. They had met many times after their engagement was forced upon them; he enjoyed watching her squirm in his presence, making her react by just being within three feet of her, but that was not enough to base a marriage around; that was not enough to base anything around.

He had learned to love Narcissa just like she had learned to love him, but this marriage would be very different from his last. There would be no trust. There would be no shared beliefs that would make it easier. Instead there would be long silences. There would be arguments. There would be moments that they wished nothing more than they had just let the Minister do whatever he wanted to them. There would be no peace.

As he made his way out of the castle, towards the grounds where the wedding would be held, there was a large part of him wishing that she would have the courage that he lacked and that she would not meet him there.

Hermione willed herself to stop crying as another sob escaped her lips. This wasn't supposed to be happening. She was supposed to get her fairy tale ending after the war. She was supposed to find her white knight, not be forced into marrying the evil prince.

"Five minutes, Mione." She heard Ginny's voice come from the doorway.

"Thanks, Gin." She said, her voice shaking only slightly.

"Do you need any help with your veil?" She asked.

"No, I'll be fine." Hermione said, still not looking at her. She did not want to hear the comforting words she was sure she would say. Nor did she want to hear how this was not her only option. She was well aware of that, however the consequences of what would happen if she didn't go through with this somehow seemed to outweigh everything else. The minister himself may be one, but the contract he had forced them to sign was no joke.

She looked up to see her tear streaked face reflected in the mirror; it was not the face of someone ready to get married.

She wiped the last of her tears away with her manicured fingertips and reached for her wand, erasing any trace they were ever there. Once again she looked the part of the perfect bride that everyone would expect Lucius Malfoy to marry. And she hated them both for it.

She slowly stood reaching for her veil, carefully pinning it into place before attaching the wreath of white roses. A medieval symbol, for a medieval practice.

From where she was standing she could see Lucius through the window, standing in the distance under the golden archway Dumbledore had supplied them with. Everything glistened in the sunlight as the guests, dressed in their finest, took their seats. She could see Dumbledore's bright and flamboyant robes, the many Weasleys' bright hair, and green and gold vines magically wrapped around the guest chairs. Everything was beautiful. Everything was perfect.

She felt the familiar urge to cry followed by the also well known urge to flee. If only she were that brave.

Ginny sent Hermione a fleeting smile before she made her way down the aisle. Her short emerald green dress swaying as she went. She appeared confident and strong, like she wanted to be there. Hermione hoped she looked the same.

Every eye was on her as she slowly made her way down the aisle. She could see them all, smiling, staring, scowling, their emotions and opinions worn on their faces for her to see. She wanted to listen to Harry, she wanted to fight with everything she had and just pick up her train and run, but she quickly suppressed the idea and focused on walking. She told herself that it would be okay once she made it down the aisle. It was a lie and she knew it. But her steps never faltered and her smile never dropped as she concentrated on getting to the end of the green carpet, to where Lucius was waiting for her.

As she reached the golden archway she handed Ginny her bouquet of roses before reaching for Lucius's hand. It wasn't until he took her hand in his own that she even realized that she was shaking.

The Minister was speaking but Hermione was unable to register any of the words. A haze had come over her as she repeated the words that the minister said. It was as if for once in her life her brain had stopped working, if she had stopped thinking about anything at all. Somewhere between her dressing room and the walk to the alter, she had resigned to her fate of being Mrs. Lucius Malfoy.

"Do you Hermione Jean, take Lucius Abraxas to be your lawfully wedded husband? To love him, to comfort him, honor and keep him, forsaking all others, so long as you both shall live?"

Her eyes met Harry's briefly and she could see the answer that he wanted her to give on his lips but she didn't say them. Instead she turned back to Lucius and said 'I do' the smile on her face making it seem as if that was really the answer that she wanted to give. She had always been good at pretending, why should her wedding day be any different?

"And do you Lucius Abraxas, take Hermione Jean to be your lawfully wedded wife? To love her, to comfort her, honor and keep her, forsaking all other, so long as you both shall live?"

"I do." Lucius voice was strong and confident, as he smiled down at her. Hermione realized that it was the first time she had ever seen him smile, even if it was a false one and she absently wondered if she would ever see him smile again before Minister Trimble's voice broke through.

"I declare you bonded for life. You may now kiss the bride." Hermione barely registered the Minister's words before she found Lucius' lips on hers. The kiss wasn't harsh or cold as she had expected. Instead his kiss was soft and chaste, everything that a first kiss should be. And in that moment the haze was lifted and she realized once again just exactly what she was doing, what this one decision had cost her, and it took every once of strength not to break down right there. Only one tear escape and Lucius wiped it away, as any loving husband should and she knew that to everyone else it would appear to be tears of happiness. If only they were.

"We can only imagine the happiness the two of them will find in each other, the eternal love they will share, and the beautiful future they will have that I'm sure will change the world in ways we can never imagine." Minister Trimble's voice echoed of the Great Hall's walls as he grinned down at the two of them, knowing he had gotten what he wanted.

Hermione's nails dug into Lucius's hands as the Minister continued to speak. It was bad enough to force them into this, but to rub their faces in it, that was low, even for him.

"Isn't there something we can do about him?" Hermione whispered, leaning closer to Lucius.

"What would you suggest, _dearest_?" he asked glancing over at her. He could see the pendant necklace that he had given to her resting on her chest and grinned inwardly.

"At the moment, a few unforgivables" She mumbled. "But give me time, I'll think of something else." She leaned back in her seat, finally releasing the strong hold she had on his hand as she moved to raise her champagne glass.

Lucius smirked at his young wife as he lifted his own glass, they did at least share one thing in common; a strong desire to give the Minister what was coming to him.

"To Lucius and Hermione, and many years to come." The Minister said.

"To Lucius and Hermione." The guests chanted. Hermione smiled before downing her own glass. It would be the only glass she allowed herself tonight, wanting to be in complete control at all times. Too many glasses and she was sure what she would do.

"Now," Minister Trimble said, he still had not taken his seat. "I believe it is time for your first dance."

Hermione looked slightly surprised and glanced over at Lucius. They had never discussed dancing. She supposed it had just been assumed that they would, all couples did, but somehow she had not been expecting it. She hadn't thought much about what would happen after the wedding, and the little she had she had tried to suppress from her mind.

"Of course," Lucius said, picking up Hermione's hand as he stood. She stared at him for a moment before realizing that she too was supposed to stand. "Come along, Hermione." He told her.

She followed him onto the dance floor that she hadn't realized was there before. She could feel hundreds of eyes on her and tried not to shrink away from the scrutiny, reminding herself that they had all been at the ceremony and their presence had not upset her then, nor should it now. However, at the wedding she had been much more distracted.

Lucius stopped in the middle of the floor, raising their intertwined fingers and moving his other hand to the small of her bare back. She closed her eyes, refusing to look at him, as his touch caused her to shiver. He pulled her slightly closer as the music began to play softly and they began to dance.

She had never realized just how graceful he was. He was a commanding presence always, but he did not force the dance as she had expected. Instead, they blended well together, elegantly sliding over the dance floor, stepping in perfect rhythm with the music and each other. As husband and wife should.

She didn't enjoy dancing with Draco, nor did she enjoy the bruising grip he had on her arm and waist. But she kept the smile on her face for everyone watching. After all, somewhere after she and his father had begun _courting_, they were supposed to have put their childhood grudges behind them.

"So I guess you finally got what you always wanted." He told her.

Hermione sighed deeply and looked past him to Lucius, dancing with Ginny. If the two of them could dance with each other, then she could handle Draco. She had put up with him for seven years during school; she could handle less then seven minutes with him now.

"What do you mean Mal—Draco?"

"Just that." He told her. "_Malfoy_. You finally got a name that means something in the wizarding world."

"I never—"

"One that people _wouldn't_ look down on."

"I'm a war hero." Hermione interjected.

"One that people wouldn't pass over when they saw it. But then you always have surrounded yourself with well-known wizarding names," he said looking down at her. "Potter, Krum, even Wood."

"We both know I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for that damn contract." Hermione told him forcefully.

"And how quickly did you sign that?" He asked leaning closer to her. "I suppose there's some Slytherin in you after all."

"I didn't—"

"Welcome to the family." He whispered into her ear. She stiffened in his arms, before he took a step back from her. "I look forward to getting to spend more time with you after yours and father's honeymoon."

"As do I." Hermione managed, noticing the people around them watching.

"Do you mind if I take over?" A familiar baritone voice came from behind her.

Before she even had the chance to respond, Draco had nodded and she was swept out of his arms and into the feared potion master's. She tried her best to appear unsurprised by his unexpected graceful movements, but the surprise of it all left her practically gaping. What was it about Slytherin men and dancing? Was it a requisite to get into the house?

"Do close your mouth, Miss Granger before people begin to wonder why you aren't."

Hermione snapped her mouth shut at his tone, one she recognized from her own days as a student, before she remembered where she was, whom she had just married. If she had the courage, or stupidity, to marry Lucius Malfoy, surely she had the ability not to shrink under Snape's presence. "I think they may be too distracted by your ability to dance, and choice to show it so publicly, to even notice that I'm dancing with you.:

"Do not make me regret my decision to save you from Mr. Malfoy." He told her.

"If you ever have the ability to save me from Mr. Malfoy, I can assure you that you will not regret it." Hermione told him. He didn't have to see her face to know which Malfoy she was speaking about. It certainly wasn't the most recent one to cause her distress.

"Miss G—_Hermione_." Professor Snape began, "I can assure you, while Lucius may not be the most righteous of men, he will never hurt you. Not by his hand, nor by his wand."

"And by his words?" Hermione asked softly.

"I cannot assure you that." He told her. "Lucius Malfoy is by no means a nice man, but he takes pride in his family. Today you became a part of that family, and he will make sure that no harm comes to you, from anyone." He pulled away from her, so that there was another foot between them, and Hermione was forced to look away from his shoulder and into his face. A place she had been determinedly not looking. Looking made what he said that much more real.

"Thank you for the dance, Mrs. Malfoy." He said nodding deeply, before turning and walking back to his place beside Dumbledore. She felt like somehow in the process of marrying into the Malfoy family she had become an honorary member of the Slytherin house. Making Professor Snape part of her dysfunctional family as well.

Hermione hurried off the dance floor and into her seat as quickly as she could without actually running. Her feet ached and her back was sore from all the standing and dancing that she had to do. As the bride she was the most requested dance partner, and even people she had never met before had asked her for the privilege. The one advantage of that was that she spent less time with Lucius, having to pretend as if they were in love, but at times she would have preferred to dance with him. He at least didn't step on her feet. He at least didn't let his hands wander. He at least didn't talk to her like she was an idiot. The same couldn't be said about most of her dance partners.

Hermione pulled off her shoes, with a groan, rubbing her feet. She had decided she hated dancing.

"Would you like to dance?" A hand was extended in front of her and she felt the urge to hit it. But she looked up and saw Ron standing there, a crooked smile on his face, and dismissed the idea.

"Where were you two hours ago when the first guest I didn't recognize asked me that same question?" she asked him.

"Probably at the food table." Ron said, pulling out the chair next to her.

"Yes, probably." She said with a laugh.

"You know I would have been there, if I could have been." He told her, suddenly looking very serious.

"I know you would have saved me if you had known," Hermione told him with a smile, "It's fine."

"That's not what I meant." He said.

"Then what?" She asked turning to get a better look at her friend.

"Before the wedding, to talk to you." Ron said, "The only reason I didn't go with Harry is because I wouldn't have been able to stop myself. I would have thrown you over my shoulder to get you out of there. But I didn't think you'd be too happy with that so I stayed outside. I figured if anyone could convince you, it would be Harry, but I doubted even he could."

"I'll be fine," Hermione said reaching her hand across the table to lay on his. "I'll find a way to make it work. You know I love a challenge."

"Lucius Malfoy certainly is a challenge." He snorted.

"Don't worry so much." Hermione said forcing a smile. "You know I can handle myself. You've been on the receiving end of my anger enough times to know that."

"I still flinch when you point your wand at me." He said with a laugh.

"You knew when you started dating me that I tended to hex when angry." She said.

"Someone should warn Mr. Malfoy of that."

"Oh, I think he might discover that on his own." She told him with a smile.

Lucius watched his new bride from across the room, she was laughing at something the Weasley boy had said. She seemed happy with him, but of course she had appeared happy when she had danced with Draco as well. Something he was sure that she was not.

She really was brilliant, able to keep up the mask with perfection in front of everyone. He himself would have believed the façade if he didn't know better.

"Excuse me gentlemen," he said nodding at the men gathered around him. "I believe it's about time that my wife and I attire to the manor."

"Of course, we've kept you far too long, in your own opinion I'm sure." Charles Baddock said with a smirk. The men around him chuckled in understanding, believing him to want to hurry off to his honeymoon with his beautiful bride.

Lucius smirked back at them, but said nothing else, cutting across the dance floor to Hermione's table.

"Mr. Weasley." He said nodding at the young man as he approached the table. He nodded back, his eyes narrowing, but said nothing. "Hermione," he said turning to her, "I think its best if we leave now."

"Leave?" Hermione repeated, standing up. "Leave, why?"

"It is getting late," Lucius reminded her, "And you seemed tired—"

"Well maybe, but—"

"And we have a busy night ahead of us; I thought you might like to return to the Manor early."

"But I haven't even had a chance to dance with Ron yet—"

"You will see him again; you'll have plenty of opportunity to dance with him another time. If you'd like, we could hold a ball for that particular reason."

"But I haven't thrown the bouquet yet or had any of the cake—"

"Throwing the bouquet is a muggle tradition that most of the people here wouldn't understand, let alone participate in." He told, "The house elves will make sure that the cake is returned home, you'll have plenty of time to enjoy it later."

"At least give me a chance to say goodbye to my friends." Hermione said quietly. "Then we can go."

"Of course." Lucius said, "I should say goodbye to Draco as well. I'll be back in a few minutes to collect you."

"Collect you?" Ron repeated as soon as he was sure that Lucius was out of earshot. "How old is he?"

"Don't start Ron." Hermione said shaking her head. "Let's just find Harry and Ginny."

Hermione crossed the dance floor, Harry and Ron were seated across the room, as far away as Lucius could get them; Ginny had been sat at their table as she was part of the wedding party but she hadn't stayed there long. Hermione couldn't blame her, she had been sit between Draco and Professor Snape, she could only imagine how uncomfortable that had made her.

"Hey guys." She said stopping in front of them.

"Hey Hermione." Ginny said smiling up at her. "You sure do know how to throw one good party."

"I didn't have much to do with it actually." Hermione said, "Lucius did most of the planning, I just made sure it wasn't all too Slytherin and picked out our dresses. I don't think he trusted me to do anything else."

"Still, it's nothing that's going to be forgotten soon." Ginny said.

"I think that's the point." Harry said.

"The Minister certainly wouldn't have settled for less." Hermione said nodding her head in agreement. "But onto more happy notes," she said faking a smile, "I finally get to leave. No more dancing with strangers for me."

"You're leaving?" Harry asked standing up.

"You didn't expect me to stay forever did you?" Hermione asked. "The party has to end sometime."

"But—"

"Harry, don't." Ginny said noticing Hermione's already frazzled nature. She placed a comforting hand on his arm, before stepping forward and embracing her friend. "Remember that your flat's always open." She told Hermione quietly. "If you need to leave or if you just want to be alone."

"Thanks Gin." Hermione said.

"And I'll be there whenever you need me as well." Ginny said, before pulling away. She smiled encouragingly before stepping back and allowing Ron to step forward and wrap his arms around her.

"I wish I could help Mione." He said, his hands tightening around her waist.

"I don't need help." Hermione said, resting her head on his shoulder. "I just need support."

"I'll see you soon." He said pulling away.

Harry didn't step forward as Ron or Ginny had, so instead Hermione came to him wrapping her arms around his waist. A minute later she felt him wrap his arms around her as well.

"I'll be fine." She told him, "I promise I can take care of myself and I won't let him get to me. Remember he's trapped in this marriage as much as I am."

"Just don't forget about us." Harry said, she could feel him breath tickling her neck. "Remember that if you need anything, need _us_, that we'll come. Wards or no wards we'll find a way in."

"I won't need you to come." She assured him, "But I promise I won't hesitate if I ever do. You're still my family Harry, this doesn't change that." Hermione pulled away and smiled up at him. "I'll be fine." She repeated, disentangling her arms from his. "Don't worry so much, you'll ruin your pretty face."

They both laughed, but if you looked closely you could tell none of there hearts were in it. It was an old joke of theirs, one they always found funny, but in this situation it somehow didn't seem amusing.

"Hermione," Lucius's voice came from behind her. "It's time to go."

She nodded in agreement, turning back to her friends. "I'll see you all in two weeks. We'll have you over for dinner."

"Of course." Ginny said smiling encouragingly at her friend. She knew how much Hermione feared this marriage would mean loosing her friends. "We'll see you then."

Hermione turned, walking back to Lucius who was holding out a white pillow to her. "It's a portkey," he said when she looked up at him in confusion. "To take us back to the manor."

"Of course." Hermione said reaching out for the pillow. She paused right before her hand touched the pillow. Was she really ready for this? She didn't have a chance to answer before Lucius wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her towards him and her hand down upon the pillow. As soon as both of their hands touched the pillow, a white light engulfed them briefly before they disappeared.

Hermione's feet touched the ground and only Lucius's arm supporting her stopped the rest of her from continuing down. She opened her eyes a moment later, once she was sure that the dizziness was gone, and found herself in the one room she hated most in the manor. The room she would be spending nights in for the next six years.

She had purposefully avoided this room up until now. She hated to think of all the time she would spending there now. With whom she would be spending it. Unconsciously she took a step back from the bed, as if distancing herself from it would solve all her problems. Lucius remained silent, but smirked at her actions. It was fun to see her unsure and uncertain after the display she had put on today. It was nice to know his presence still flustered her.

"Excuse me for a moment." He said walking around the bed and entering the bathroom. She didn't know whether to thank him or hate him for leaving her alone.

She sunk down on the bed, fighting the urge to flee. She had deliberately spent no time thinking about the wedding night so that she wouldn't be able to agonize over it, but now she wished she had better prepared herself. What she would have done she didn't know, but surely there was something. This wouldn't be the first time she had ever done this, that ship had sailed many years ago, but it was the first time she would do it without being in love.

She heard the door click open and she stood up quickly, turning to see him come out. He had removed his outer robes, leaving him in a black shirt and slacks. She suddenly felt overdressed in her wedding gown, but certainly didn't want to take it off either. He stood in the doorway for a moment before coming walking slowly over to her side of the bed, stopping before her. He cupped her face in his hand, lifting her chin until she was looking him directly in the eye. It was the first time she could ever remember seeing real emotion in his eyes. He looked almost sympathetic.

"This is a requirement of all Wizarding wedding contracts." He told her, she could feel grip tighten slightly as he moved his thumb to gently caress her chin. "I will not force you, but if nothing happens today's festivities will have been for nothing."

"I know," Hermione said, closing her eyes. If she closed her eyes he could be anyone. If she closed her eyes she could pretend that this day wasn't happening. She could pretend that this was just a horribly vivid dream. "I'm just a little anxious. I'll get over it." She said leaning farther into his touch. His hand was so wonderfully cool against her hot skin.

She couldn't see it, as she still had her eyes closed, but he could feel him smirking down at her, most likely pleased with her reaction to him. She knew that there was a part of him reveling in this. He would never force her, wouldn't make her do anything she didn't want to, but that was the enjoyable part for him. She was going into this willingly. She was giving herself to him _willingly_. Somehow that made it better for him, she knew that.

She felt him slowly remove his hand, bring it down to her waist to pull her closer, before lifting the other hand and brushing her lips with his fingertips. Her eyes flew open at the contact and she was startled to see him so close to her now; she could feel his breath intermingling with her own. And then his lips were on her own, brushing gently but firmly and for a moment she forget everything and allowed herself to get caught up in the feelings he was creating with in her. And then it all came crashing back down.

She pulled away, her head spinning. Her mind was shouting at her, screaming that this was Lucius Malfoy in front of her. Another voice reminded her that he was her husband, that they were married and that this was required of them or else everything that she went through that day, these past months was worth nothing. And then there was another voice, one much quieter, whispering in her ear that she had enjoyed his lips on hers, that they were married and that there wasn't anything wrong with what they were doing. She didn't know what voice to listen to; she just wanted time to think. Time she didn't have.

She felt the first teardrops and she felt ridiculous for getting so emotional, angry with herself for allowing him to see her weak and confused, something she had promised herself she would never do. But the teardrops still fell. She felt like she was lying to herself, like she was betraying herself somehow, but she didn't know how to stop it. Didn't know what to do to make it better.

And then in a moment of tenderness she would never have imagined from him, he brushed her stray tears away, cupping her cheek. "Would it help if I was to lie to you?"

And for a moment she considered telling him yes. To give into temptation and allow herself to believe that he really did love her and that this marriage was more then it really was. But she was too strong to allow that. She wouldn't do that to herself and she wouldn't allow him to hold that over her in the future, no matter how much it would comfort her in the present. She softly whispered "no" before bringing her lips up to meet his in a kiss. If she stopped thinking about it and just allowed herself to feel, she could do this.

And that's what she did. For once in her life Hermione Granger stopped thinking and allowed her body to take control. It would not have been the night she would have chosen and he would never be Prince Charming in her eyes. But she had learned from an early age that she was no fairy princess in need of rescuing. And that night, as they joined as one, a connection, as unwilling as it may or may not be, was made.

* * *

_**A/N: Okay, let the heavy objects fly! I'm really really sorry that this chapter took so long to get out. But I finally have a semi-valid excuse. Or at least I do in my own opinion. **_

_**My computer died, in a non repairable way and I lost pretty much everything on it. And then I had to wait until I could get a new one, something that takes time because I'm not rich. I'm not even comfortly poor. Add that to the fact that I lost everything that I had saved on my computer for this and my other stories, that made it more difficult. All I had to base this on was my stuff in my notebooks scattered about and that really wasn't always that helpful. But I am really super sorry about not getting this out sooner. I've felt incredibly guilty about it, if that helps at all. **_

_**Big Huge thanks to my beta Emma, who's amazing and puts up with me and my horrible grammar and my ability to become easily confused!!**_

_**I hope everyone liked the chapter! I have had a few questions about if the rating is going to go up, and its not. I don't do mature fics, or at least not in that sense, so I'm sorry if that's what your looking for. Besides I don't think you'd really want me to attempt to, it probably wouldn't turn out very well. **_

_**Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed. Your all amazing and I love you guys and I'm so glad that you like the story. **_

_**To Fortuneteller, I'd be willing to consider it. Can you PM about it? **_

_**PLEASE Review!! Ideas, suggestions, and nicely put corrections are always welcome. **_


	8. Chapter Seven

_**Chapter Seven:**_

Hermione shivered as she felt cool air against her bare skin. She pulled the unfamiliar sheets up over her and moved closer to the warm body beside her. The warm body of Lucius Malfoy. If the cool air hadn't woken her up, that realization certainly did.

She didn't know what to think about what had happened last night, what to feel. It was all so surreal, so unlike anything that had ever happened to her. She didn't know how to deal with it. This was Lucius Malfoy she was lying beside, that she was now married to. A former Death Eater, a bad man, one whom for a long time she thought deserved to be sent to Azkaban for life, one that she prayed had changed but feared that he hadn't. She had seen different sides of him, not many, but enough to know he couldn't be completely terrible. She knew that there was some compassion deep in there somewhere, that he wasn't all bad. But just because he wasn't evil, didn't make him a good person.

Lucius stirred beside her, pulling her closer to him. Hermione stilled, barely breathing as she watched him beside her. He looked so different sleeping. There was no smirk, no intimidating gaze, just a man like everyone else. His hand on her waist relaxed and he stopped moving. He seemed more content with her closer to him. It seemed like such an uncharacteristic thing to do. It seemed so normal, like something a real husband would do, like someone who cared for her would do. He was neither of those things. No matter what he did, or looked like, she couldn't help but remember that he was still Lucius Malfoy.

Taking a deep breath, Hermione tried to extract herself from Lucius's grip, slowly moving his hand off her waist and sliding over to the edge of the bed. When she saw that he was still asleep, she finally exhaled, and stood up. Hopefully, a shower would wash away the guilt she was feeling.

Feigning sleep, Lucius watched as his new bride climbed out of bed and hurried into the bathroom, dragging the top sheet along with her.

There certainly were perks in this forced relationship, and last night was one of them. Alone, he allowed himself to smile at the memory. Hopefully, there would be repeat performances in the future, though he doubted that she would agree without a lot of convincing first. Thankfully, he was good at manipulating people into seeing things his way; his new wife would be no different.

Yes, it would take time but eventually he would win her over, he was sure of that.

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Hermione hurried into the bathroom, pulling the dark sheet closer around her body though she knew that no one could see her. Lucius was still asleep and they were alone in the Manor except for the house-elves. That didn't make her feel better, though she supposed it should. There was no Draco to walk in and make snide comments, no Pansy to glare in her direction, no Professor Snape to confuse her with unexplainable kind words. But she wished she wasn't alone. She wished there was someone else here to help her sort through all of this.

Everything was just so complicated right now. Last night had been so confusing, full of so many different emotions and being too afraid to express them. She didn't know what to do now. Did this change things between the two of them? Would he treat her differently now? Would he treat her worse? Would this be held over her head from now on? That was what she feared the most. That he would constantly bring this up, that he would degrade her somehow because of it. That he would use this against her.

She felt the tears begin to prickle behind her eyes and she desperately wanted them to stop. She wanted to stop feeling as if her life was out of her control. She wanted to feel like she had a say in what was happening, that she had choices. But wanting and having are two very different things.

Her tears began to come faster and she felt a sob escape her lips without her permission. This was just not how she imagined her life turning out. It was so far away from what she had imagined.

She fought back her tears long enough to stumble over to the shower and turn it on. She might not have been able to stop him from seeing her cry last night, but she would make sure that he didn't wake up to her crying this morning. If he could be strong about this situation, then so could she. She would be strong. If only she could stop crying.

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Lucius sat up slowly, taking in the sound of Hermione sobbing in the bathroom. The shower started quickly after, masking her cries, but he knew that she was still crying. She had cried the night before and it had disturbed him greatly. He had never known how to deal with crying women; he had barely known how to deal with Draco as a child when he had cried. But he had thought that Hermione had moved on, that the evening had been enjoyable for them both. So then why was she still crying?

Hearing her crying made him feel like he had caused it, almost remorseful because of it. It was not a feeling he was accustomed to and it was not a feeling that he liked.

He didn't have feelings for Granger, he didn't like her and he certainly didn't love her, nor did he ever _want_ to like or love her. But he did not want her to miserable either. A miserable wife was a help to no one and it would only serve to make both of their lives harder. He didn't need that.

He couldn't help but think that perhaps it would be best for everyone involved if he just left her alone. The manor was a large place; she'd find plenty to do without him, and he was sure that she would prefer it that way. He knew he certainly would. They would see each other for meals, in the evening for bed, and public events, but there was no reason to be around each other more than that. For his plan, he only needed her to look the ever doting wife when there were others around. As much her trust would benefit him, it wasn't necessary and it certainly didn't seem forthcoming. It was not as if this was a real marriage, it was not as though he wanted to spend his time with a woman like her. Yes, perhaps that was how it should be. Perhaps it would be the best for the both of them.

--------------------------

Hermione stepped out of the bathroom, pulling her robe around her closer. She had been in such a hurry to escape into the bathroom that she had forgotten her clothes. She glanced over at the bed, but it was now empty. Lucius must have woken up while she was in the shower. She couldn't help but wonder if he was coming back or if she was going to have to go in search of him. She hoped that he would come back on his own, so she didn't have to deal with the embarrassment of finding him.

She hurried over to the wardrobe, pulling out a pair of dress-robes instead of the normal jeans and sweater she usually wore when spending the day at home. There was no need to give Lucius a reason to bring up her muggle heritage any sooner than necessary. Just because she had finally settled down from this morning, that she had made the decision to be strong, knowing it was the only way this marriage could work, didn't mean that she ready for a fight. Merlin knew there would be enough of those in the next six years, no need to have one when they had only been married one day.

Hermione dressed slowly, taking the time to do her hair, carefully brushing out the knots before drying it, instead of just putting it up into a messy bun and letting it dry on its own like she normally did. When she was done, Lucius still hadn't returned and she had nothing else to keep her in the room.

Realistically, she knew it was her own room and that she could stay in it as long as she wanted, but she felt as if she didn't belong. Nothing other than her clothing in the wardrobe was even hers; it all screamed of Lucius, just like everything else in the house. She felt like she stood out from everything else, like a misplaced piece of clay pottery on a shelf full of crystal vases. In time she would get used to the manor, know her way around, but even after six years were over, she didn't think that she would ever feel as though she truly belonged there.

------------------------

When Hermione found Lucius in the dining room, he was already eating his breakfast with the paper spread out in front of him. He acknowledged her entrance with a nod, but nothing more.

Confused by his actions, Hermione sank down in her own chair across from him. Food appeared in front of her a moment later. She began to eat quietly, glancing up at Lucius every few minutes. He had barely even looked up from the paper since she came into the room and the only time that he did was to pick up his tea, or rearrange the paper, never to look at her, not even to look in her direction.

She didn't know what to do. She didn't know how to act. This was not the first meal they had eaten in silence, but it was the first meal they had eaten in silence alone. She felt like she should say something, break the tension that was all too apparent to her, but she didn't know what to do. She didn't know how to start a conversation with him. There had always been a reason to talk to him, never a want. Right now, she desperately wanted to talk to him, to know what was going on in his mind. She wanted him to tell her…she didn't know what she wanted him say. She just wanted him to say something.

A moment later, he put down the paper and pushed back his chair. "I have some business that needs attending." He told her. "I'll be in my study. You shouldn't expect me for lunch."

"I-I thought during the honeymoon period it was customary for neither person to do any work." Hermione said, looking at him wide-eyed. She had been hoping that he would break the silence, but not that way.

"Yes, and if this was a _real_ honeymoon, I would follow that custom," He drawled. "As it is not, I'll see you at dinner."

He swept out of the room, and all Hermione could do was watch him. This was much worse than him holding last night over her head, so much worse than him expecting it to happen again. He was acting as though it never happened at all.

---------------------------------------

After breakfast, Hermione retreated to the library not knowing where else to go. Lucius was her only company and he had made it clear that she wouldn't be seeing him until dinner, if she was lucky enough to see him then.

As she entered the library, it suddenly seemed much larger than before. Instead of being a warm, comforting haven for her, it seemed empty and cold, another reminder of how alone she was right now. She could see Lucius's presence everywhere, screaming out at her, telling her that she didn't belong there and she never would, reminding here that she was all alone here, without her friends, without her family, and without even the company of a Slytherin .

Drawing her robes closer, she sat down at the large wooden desk on the far side of the room, pulling out a piece of parchment to write her friends. She knew that they would be worried about her and some sort of reassurance that Lucius hadn't done away with her already would comfort them. And maybe they'd write back right away and hearing from them would allow her to feel connected to someone.

She knew that she was being silly, that this should be everything that she wanted. That him staying away from her, that him not talking to her, not doing things to confuse her should be everything that she wanted. But it wasn't. Last night, as confusing as everything had been, for a few moments, after everything was done, she felt surprisingly safe. He hadn't hurt her, he had had a gentle touch, he was nothing like she had expected, and before she fell asleep she thought that there was a possibility that everything was going okay. That somehow, together, they would make this work. They would never be true husband and wife, they would never be friends, but they would be partners.

When she woke up, all of her doubts had come crashing back down on her and she had been terrified again. She had been terrified about what had happened, about everything that would happen. In the shower, as she talked herself down off that emotional cliff, she had clung to that feeling from last night. She had held onto the feeling of a connection between the two of them. Now she felt like she had lost that, she felt like he had given up the chance of a partnership before it even had a chance to begin. She didn't know why, but it hurt and it left her feeling small and inadequate.

Dipping her quill into the ink, she pushed her feeling aside as she began writing her friends. She wrote to Harry and Ron first, assuring them that she was safe and telling them about her plan to stay locked up in the library all day, far away from Lucius, as if it had been her idea all along. She made no note of what had transpired the night before or the loneliness that had already begun to seep in. Instead, she insisted that she was fine, but that she couldn't wait for two weeks to get to see them again. At least that was the truth.

She placed her letter to the side, so the ink could dry, and pulled out another piece of parchment to write to Ginny. She wanted to tell Ginny everything that had had happened, wanted to let it all out to her so Ginny could make sense of what she was feeling and tell her she wasn't crazy for feeling like she did. However, she couldn't do that, not even with Ginny. Lucius certainly wouldn't like it, and Ginny never kept anything from Harry whom wouldn't be able to deal with the situation. She wasn't sure even Ginny could deal with the situation. Not with everything that had happened in the past. Ginny's letter ended up much like Harry and Ron's, without some of the false assurances that she knew that Ginny would be able to see through that Harry and Ron would not.

She waited for the ink to dry before rolling up each parchment and sealing them both with her wand. She wasn't sure where the Owlery was, though she knew for a fact the manor had one, so instead she called for Dippy the house-elf that had been assigned to her. She didn't like the idea of having her own house-elf that had to do everything that she told her to do, but right now there wasn't anyone else to ask for help.

Dippy appeared a moment later, bowing to Hermione. "Yes, Mistress? How can Dippy help Mistress?"

"You don't have to call me Mistress, Dippy." Hermione told her. "You can call me Hermione."

"No, no, no. Dippy knows her place, Mistress. I am to call you Mistress and Master, Master." Dippy said, shaking her head vehemently.

Hermione didn't like the idea of being called Mistress; she didn't like the idea of being Mistress of the manor. It wasn't who she was. It was what people like Narcissa were, it was what people like Pansy grew up to be, what they were bred for. Hermione wasn't bred for this life. She was bred for the working life, for a life where she and her husband would work, where they would both contribute to the household. The title Mistress came with a stigma and it was not one that she wanted to deal with any more then she had to.

"Well, then how about this?" Hermione said, "Call me Mistress Hermione. Can you do that?"

"If that is what Mistress wants, that it is what Dippy will do." She said. "How can Dippy help Mistress Hermione?"

"I have two letters that I wanted to send, but I have no idea where the Owlery is." Hermione explained. "Can you please take them and send them?"

"Of course, Mistress." Dippy said, quickly taking the rolls of parchment from Hermione.

"Thank you Dippy. The first one goes to Harry Potter and the second to Ginny Weasley." Hermione said, smiling at the elf.

"I will do this right away." Dippy said, nodding her head. "Does Mistress Hermione need anything else?"

"No, I'm fine Dippy." She said. The elf nodded her head before disappearing with a pop.

Hermione sighed once she was gone, feeling alone again. How sad was it that she longed for the company of house-elf who couldn't even say her name without putting a title in front of it.

Trying to forget where she was and the reasons she was there, Hermione began to search for a book to lose herself in for the rest of the day.

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Hermione read until Dippy came back, telling her that lunch was ready for her. As she sat at the large dining room table, all by herself, she suddenly didn't feel very hungry. She didn't know what to think about breakfast. She wasn't sure what she had expected of Lucius, but it wasn't that. Professor Snape had been right when he told her that Lucius was not a good man, nor a righteous one, but after last night she had begun to believe what else he had told her; she was a Malfoy now and would be treated differently because of that. If this was how Malfoys were treated, she didn't know why anyone would ever willingly become one.

Maybe that was the problem. She didn't know. She had been raised in a muggle home, the only pureblood relationship she had seen was Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and she had a feeling that their relationship was nothing close to being normal. They had married for love and love alone, unlike most purebloods who married to gain a higher standing, money, and the promise that future generations of their family would remain pure. From what she understood, there was nothing uncommon about arranged marriages in the wizarding world; it was considered normal. Maybe, despite the different reasons for their marriage, this was normal to Lucius. Maybe this was how he had treated Narcissa at first.

He hadn't been cruel to her, at least not by Malfoy standards. He hadn't called her foul names, he hadn't held last night over her head, he hadn't mocked her or tried to make her uncomfortable. He had said that this wasn't a real honeymoon and he was right. What had happened last night had only happened because it had to. There would be no repeat performances, no matter how surprisingly gentle and caring he had been. This wasn't a real honeymoon, this wasn't even a real marriage; there was no reason to be upset that he had the courage to say it out loud when she didn't.

So what if he had been silent throughout the meal? So what if he wasn't joining her now? If she wanted this partnership to work, then she was going to have to be willing to give him what he needed. And if that was time away from her, then she would just have to accept that. It wasn't as though she wanted to spend time with him. She never knew what to say to him, she was always on guard around him, he knew how to push her buttons like nobody else, and every time he was within two feet of her, she felt the need to run to the other side of the room. She didn't like him. She didn't understand him. She was even slightly frightened of him. Was it childish of her to want him to like her despite that? Was it wrong of her to want her husband to accept her?

--------------------------------------

Lucius took his place at the dinner table promptly at seven o'clock. He nodded his head, acknowledging her presence as he had done that morning, before beginning to eat. Hermione picked up her own fork a moment later, starting on her own dinner.

An uncomfortable silence fell over the table, despite Hermione's resolve not to let Lucius's actions get to her. They were married to one another, they had slept together, and yet they couldn't even make conversation across the dinner table with each other. It felt wrong to her. Everything about this marriage seemed wrong to her.

"Did you have a productive day?" Hermione asked. Her voice seemed much louder then she had intended, it seemed to almost echo off the walls. It must have been all the time she had spent in silence that day; it was beginning to get to her.

He looked up from his plate, eyeing her warily before he answered. "Yes, quite productive."

"That's good to hear." Hermione said nodding her head. She hoped that if she started talking she could get him to continue. It didn't have to be about anything important. She would talk about the weather, she would talk about quidditch as long as it would break the unbearable silence.

"I spent most of my day in the library," She continued. "You really do have an exquisite collection."

"Yes, I do." Lucius agreed.

He didn't say anything after that. He hadn't had to. In that three word sentence, he had reminded her of just who she was dealing with, of whose home she was in. He had reminded her of who had the power and it was not her.

Hermione did not find a reason to speak again during dinner. The silence suddenly seemed very welcome.

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Lucius left the table as soon as he was finished eating. He told her that he was retiring to the library and that he was not to be disturbed before sweeping away. She felt like crying. The one place she had felt remotely comfortable and he had taken it away for the night, reminding her that it was never hers to begin with.

Pushing away her barely touched plate, she tossed her cloth napkin on the table and stood up, making her way out of the room and up the stairs to her room—their room— for an early night. Perhaps when she woke up things would be different. Perhaps things would be better.

As she walked to their rooms, she couldn't help but pause as she passed the library.

She could see him sitting by the fire in the same chair she had sat in all day, a rather large brandy in his hand. He seemed so cold, so distant sitting there. Everything she had suspected him to be but had hoped terribly that he wouldn't be.

She felt the familiar sensation of tears prickling her eyes, and she hurried past the library doors and into their rooms. She did not want him to see her cry. Not again.

Closing the door behind her, she closed her eyes and slid down to the floor, the entire day hitting her. This wasn't what she wanted. This was so far from what she wanted. Everything that she had feared was beginning to fall into place and it terrified her. For a while, she had been able to convince herself that things were going to be fine, that everything was going to be okay. She had spent so much time telling everyone else that this was going to work out that she had begun to believe her own lies. She had begun to think that as long as they worked together, they could do this. She had believed that somehow, they could put their differences aside and it would work, but it had been one day, one day and she already wanted out. She wanted to leave and go home. She wanted to be in her own flat, in her own room. She wanted to be with her friends, be with Harry and Ron, be with the Weasleys, the Order, she wanted to be anywhere that wasn't here. He hated her. He looked down on her. He could barely stand to talk to her. Marriage, sex, and everything else that had happened didn't and couldn't change that. No matter how much she wanted them too.

Forcing herself off the ground, Hermione staggered over to the wardrobe, pulling out the first nightgown she found. She forced herself to breathe evenly as she entered the bathroom, closing the door before quickly changing out of the robes that felt like they were suffocating her and into the loose red nightgown she had grabbed. She found that she no longer cared that the red might upset Lucius or clash with all the green around her. She found that she cared very little about anything at all.

Hermione glanced in the mirror to see a miserable tearstained face looking back at her. She looked pale and tired, much more tired than she should be at eight o'clock at night when she had spent her day reading. Hermione glared at her reflection in the mirror, at the proof of how weak she really was.

She didn't know how she was going to get through this; she didn't know how she was going to be able to convince people that she was happy when she was miserable. She didn't know how she was going to take living with him every day. And Hermione Granger hated not knowing things.

**----------------------------**

That was how the days continued. Lucius spent his days locked in his study and Hermione spent hers in the library, searching for anything to distract her from reality. Briefly, she had considered wandering the corridors to see if he said anything, to see if she could make him talk to her even if it was just to reprimand her, but his warning about the terrible things she could find if she wandered off stopped her. She didn't want him to speak to her so badly that she was willing to risk her life.

Breakfast and dinner were eaten in silence and Hermione took to staring at her plate, so she wouldn't be tempted to say anything to Lucius. She wondered if he had noticed, and if he had, she wondered if he cared.

At night, she was always the first to bed and in the morning, she always awoke alone. The only reason she knew that he had even been there was the ruffled covers on his side of the bed. Even then, she feared that she had only imagined those.

The logical side of her knew that she shouldn't mind the separation, that she shouldn't mind that he was ignoring her. She did. Every day she felt more terrible because of it. Every time he left for his study after breakfast, every time he walked past her, barely acknowledging that she was there, every time that he blatantly ignored her, she felt like crying herself to sleep as she had done her first night there.

She longed for the intimidating man from the library to return. She longed for the controlling and patronizing man from the party. For the man who told her he would lie to her, to come back. Those men had at least acknowledged her, had at least appeared to respect her. That was all she really wanted from him.

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Hermione entered the library, before stopping suddenly mid-step. She hadn't realized Lucius was in there, he hadn't said anything when he had left dinner. He looked up from the fire, a look of surprise briefly flittering across his face.

"I was just…I wanted to get a book to read in bed." Hermione said, feeling the need to explain her presence. It was the most she had spoken to him in days.

He nodded his head and Hermione took that as a sign of approval, hurrying over to the nearest bookshelf. She had seen a book on the lunar phases and their effects on potions a few days ago and she had wanted to read it. It looked interesting and it wasn't as though she had anything else to do.

Lucius watched as she skimmed her fingers against the books spines, obviously looking for one in particular. He could practically see her relax in front of his eyes. It was the first time that she had seemed comfortable in his presence since the day after the wedding, maybe the first time she had ever. It was as though somehow the large amount of books surrounding them counteracted his being there.

Though he had always acted as though he didn't, he had noticed her actions at the meals they shared; she had taken to staring at her plate throughout the meal, as though unable to look directly at him. He had seen her stiffen when he entered a room, his presence making her feel as though she had to defend herself.

He did not blame her. He had never been kind to her. He wasn't forthcoming in conversation. He knew that she did not like him. He knew that she did not share the same beliefs as him. No, he did not blame her for being uncomfortable in his presence. Watching her now, in front of him, seemingly relaxed, he realized that he preferred it for some reason. He realized for all of his want to be in control, to be more powerful than everyone around him, that he wanted something more than that, too.

After Narcissa had left him, he had thought that if he was ever to get married again that his new wife would be a confidant, someone he could trust to help him in the more sticky aspects of his life, someone who understood him, someone who could be what Narcissa never was. Someone he could have chosen himself. He would never have chosen Hermione.

He wasn't a believer in love or at least not in the romantic sense, but he did believe in the idea of commonality. Though he would never admit it aloud, commonality would be nice at this time of his life.

Hermione smiled largely, pulling the book from the shelf, happy to have found it. She was beginning to think she had imagined it. She glanced behind her and saw that Lucius was no longer watching her, but had turned back to the fire again. There was a red light cast across his face and while Hermione felt like it should have made him look angry or cruel even, it did not. It reminded her of when she woke up a week ago, after spending their first night together, and he had looked like a human instead of Lucius Malfoy.

By the light of the fire, he looked different from what she was used to seeing him. She could see no arrogance, no mockery or malice in his eyes. He didn't look happy or sad or any other emotion she could think of, but he didn't look like the man she saw every night at dinner either. She didn't know what the difference was, but she did know that she longed to see this man, to interact with this man for the next six years, not the one that she normally saw. In the pit of her stomach, she knew that was impossible. Lucius Malfoy would never allow her to see him as anything other than Lucius Malfoy.

Taking a deep breath, she turned around completely, preparing herself to face him. He didn't look up at her, but something about him shifted. Any openness that had been there moments ago was gone.

"I found what I was looking for," She told him. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." He said, finally looking at her. For a brief moment, he considered following her to the bedroom, being there with her while they were both awake. He wondered if it would change anything, or if it would just be uncomfortable for them both. Maybe he could make it so it was just uncomfortable for her.

Tossing back the rest of his glass of scotch, he stood up. Quickly walking over to the drink cart where the decanter of firewhiskey was waiting for him, he needed something stronger to drink tonight.

**-------------------------------**

"You weren't downstairs for dinner." Lucius's voice came from across the room. "Did you forget the time?"

Hermione glanced up from the book that she had been trying to read for the last hour. What little she had been able to read made almost no sense to her and the words kept merging together, making it more difficult to read.

"I didn't realize my presence at the dinner table was mandatory." Hermione said, pulling the blanket over her shoulders. Lucius stood in the doorway, his full intimidating self in all his glory.

"It isn't mandatory to show up at dinner, just polite." He said, looking her over. Something seemed off about her, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was. Her presence seemed somehow different though. She was wearing muggle clothing today. Maybe it was that.

"I'm sorry," Hermione said, laying her book down beside her. "I'm not feeling very well and I told Dippy that I just wanted some crackers. I thought the house-elves would have told you."

"They didn't." He said evenly.

"I'm sorry," Hermione said, standing up. "I just—" Her vision began to swim and she grabbed the arm of the chair to keep from falling over.

"Are you alright?" Lucius asked.

Hermione's head snapped up at the sound of his voice. If he had been anyone else, she would have thought that he sounded concerned. "I'm fine." Hermione said, forcing herself to let go of the chair and step forward. She was unwilling to show him any weakness. "I'll come down to dinner…I just need… " She felt the blanket slip off her shoulders, but she was unable to stop it. The room was beginning to spin again and she didn't know how to make it stop.

"I think something's wrong." Hermione said. Then everything went black. Lucius was just barely able to stop her head from hitting the floor.

"Dippy!" Lucius called, shifting Hermione's body so she he could lean her head against his chest. Her forehead was burning up and she was much paler then he had noticed from across the room. Foolish woman, if she was this ill she should have been in their bedroom resting, not in the library.

Dippy arrived seconds later, her eyes widening at the sight of Hermione in her master's arms. "Yes master?" Dippy asked.

"Prepare our rooms. Mistress Malfoy has taken ill." Lucius said.

"Of course master." Dippy said, bowing deeply. She disappeared a moment later.

Pulling Hermione closer to himself, Lucius tucked one of his arms underneath her knees and the other behind her back, carefully lifting her off the ground. He didn't want to use the levitation charm because he was afraid that she would awaken on the way to their room and only end up getting hurt. There was no need to add to the situation.

----------------------

In the hallway, Hermione began to stir in his arms and he tightened his hold on her, afraid that if she moved too much he might drop her. She moved herself closer to him, letting out a quiet moan. Looking down at her, he saw her eyelids beginning to flutter open. "So-so co-col-dd." She said through her chattering teeth.

"We will be to our rooms momentarily, it will be warmer there." He told her. She looked up at him wide-eyed, as though she hadn't realized that it was him who was carrying her.

"Thank y-you." She told him.

The door to their room was open when they reached it and he maneuvered them skillfully through it, as though he had done this many times before. Hermione briefly wondered if he had been the one to carry her upstairs when she had fallen asleep after the engagement party before she felt herself being lowered onto the bed and the quilt pulled around her.

"There are more blankets beside you if you need them." He told her softly. "I will return shortly."

"Return? Where are you going?" Hermione asked looking up at him confused.

"To retrieve Serverus." He explained, "I do not trust Medi-witches, they do not have the capacity to keep quiet about anything. Whenever someone falls ill, we call Severus. Sometimes I think that is the only reason we are still friends."

Hermione laughed quietly, surprised at his comment. "I never knew you could be this amusing." She said sleepily as she buried herself further under the covers.

"There is a lot you don't know about me." He told her.

"And whose fault is that?" she asked him.

He paused, looking down at the witch. She was most likely too feverish to realize what she had said to him. He didn't think she would have said something so forward normally. Not to him.

"I will be back soon; Dippy will stay with you while I'm away." He said, nodding towards the house-elf. He glanced down at her again, making sure that she understood him, before turning and going to the fireplace to use the floo.

Hermione cringed as she heard him call out "Severus Snape's quarters" much too loudly before he disappeared in a green flash.

------------------------

Lucius returned some time later to an empty room, Severus coming in behind him. "Hermione?" He called.

"Mistress in bathroom." Dippy said hurrying into the room. "She is being very sick."

"I'm fine." Hermione said coming to stand in the bathroom doorway. "I just threw up everything that I have ever eaten, but I'm fine."

She looked both the men standing in the doorway over before slowly moving out of the doorway and towards the bed. It looked more welcoming right now than it ever had these past nights. She was still weak on her feet and she stumbled halfway there. She felt Lucius wrap his arms catching her around the waist and she let herself be led back to the bed.

As she laid back in bed she watched the two men, both dressed in black, move about the room. If sometime in the past, someone had ever suggested that one day she would be sick in bed and Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape would be the ones taking care of her she would still be laughing now. Even now there was something about the situation that made her want to start giggling inappropriately despite how terrible she felt. She thought that perhaps that was Professor Snape's fault; there was something definitely disconcerting about having the man who had degraded her for years while teaching her potions in her bedroom. It, she realized, could also be the fever causing her to have such odd thoughts. She wasn't sure which one she preferred.

Hermione watched as Professor Snape drew his wand and began casting a diagnostic spell on her. The air around her pulsed yellow and then blue and then back to yellow before disappearing again.

"Definitely the flu." Professor Snape said. "And with a rather high fever. It was foolish of you to try to fight the effects of it." He said looking down at her, "You really shouldn't have been anywhere but in bed today Miss—Mrs. Malfoy."

"Uhh….Please don't call me that." Hermione moaned, shifting around on the bed. She felt terrible already; she didn't need him to lecture her about it. If she had realized how sick she really was, she would have told someone…not that there really was anyone to tell. She hadn't seen Lucius since breakfast that morning and Dippy, as loyal as she was, did not make for great company, so she never saw much of her.

"As you wish, Hermione." He said raising his eyebrow at Lucius. Lucius did nothing but look back at him passively.

Severus looked away from the other man and lifted several potion vials from the bag he had brought with him.

"This is a fever reducing potion." He said pointing to the first one. "It should be taken every six hours. The next one is an antihistamine and cough suppressant. It should be taken every eight. The third potion is to be taken only if you is unable to keep anything down and should only be taken once. Did you get all of that?"

Hermione looked up at him blankly, unsure of whether his question was addressed to her or Lucius. "I know you were talking but I can honestly say I have no idea what you just said." She told him, blinking up at him innocently.

Severus rolled his eyes at the woman in bed and turned to Lucius. "I do hope you were paying more attention than your wife because it seems it will be up to you and you alone to make sure that she takes the correct dosage and does not overdose herself." Severus said, smirking at his old friend. "Especially after only being married for a little over a week, that certainly wouldn't look good for you."

"I will instruct the house-elves to do just as you said." Lucius said, glaring at the other man.

"As adept as I'm sure your house-elves are at following your instructions, Lucius, these potions are sensitive and it would be best if they are handled by human hands and human hands alone." Severus told him. "I will give her her first dose now and you can give her her second dose in six hours."

Lucius glare intensified as Severus's smirk grew.

---------------------------------

Six hours later found Lucius perched as gracefully as one could on the edge of the bed next to his young wife. She had moved so that she was now in the middle of the bed, draped over his pillow. He sneered at her, reminding himself to make sure that the rooms were cleaned properly once she was no longer unwell. He had no need to get ill himself because she didn't have the courtesy to remain on her own side of the bed.

He reached over and shook her shoulder softly. "Hermione." He called, lowering his voice. As amusing as it might be to sometime startle her awake, he didn't think this was the appropriate time to do so.

"Emmm…" She murmured, pressing herself closer to his pillow.

"Hermione, wake up." He instructed her, this time more forcefully. She began to stir this time, her eyes fluttering open and looking up at him curiously.

"It is time to take your potion." He said, picking it up from the night table. When he looked back at her, she was still watching him curiously. She was looking as though she had never seen him before.

"Such a pretty man," She said sleepily, "Such a pretty, pretty man. How can someone so pretty be so cold?"

Surprised by her words Lucius leaned in closer to Hermione, trying to determine if he had heard her correctly. Before he had left, Severus had told him that the combination of the potions and high fever might have a strange effect on her behavior but this had not been what he had expected. But then again, most men rarely expected to be called 'pretty'.

"Hermione, take the potion." He said, holding the vial out to her. She was still watching him closely, as though she was trying to determine the answer to her question herself.

"Did I do something wrong?" Hermione asked. "Is that why you're ignoring me, because I did something wrong? Because I didn't mean too, I didn't."

"That is just the fever talking, Hermione." Lucius told her. "You need to take your potion again now. It will help you get some sleep and hopefully return your senses."

"If I take the potion, will you forgive me?" She asked. "Will you talk to me again?"

"Do you really wish to speak with me that badly?" He found himself asking, unable to stop himself. This certainly wasn't what he expected of her and he honestly didn't know what to make of it.

"I just want the silence to go away," She said frantically, struggling to sit up. "I hate the silence. Silence means you're alone, all alone, all by yourself…I promise to be good. I promise I will, but please don't leave me alone. I don't want to be alone. "

"Why are you so afraid of being alone?" He asked her.

"Bad things happen when you're alone, bad, terrible things." Hermione whispered, "Don't let them happen again. Please don't let them happen again!"

"Calm yourself!" Lucius told her. "Take your potion and I will not leave you alone."

"Promise?" She asked quietly. Her eyes filled with something different now. Gone was the curiosity, the searching, now they were filled with fear, real fear.

"I…promise." Lucius forced out. It was not a word he liked to use but it seemed that it would be the only way to get her to calm down and to take her potion.

Hermione quickly took the potion from his hand, sinking back down on the bed. "Just one sip." He instructed her. She nodded her head and did as he said before handing him back the vial.

"Much better." She murmured sleepily, before closing her eyes. He was happy to note that she had moved so that for the most part she was on her own side of the bed. A few moments later, she was asleep.

Lucius placed the potion vial back onto the nightstand next to the other one. He wouldn't have to give her the other potion for another two hours but he found himself unwilling to leave yet.

He knew that he was free from his obligation to stay, that there was no reason to stay with her and she would not notice his absence, but he was unable to look away from her. She looked so peaceful right then, so very different from the panicked woman she had been just moments before. He hadn't realized the effect that he had been having on her. He knew that she had been unhappy, but he had thought that unhappiness had stemmed from the marriage itself, not his absence. He thought she would appreciate time away from him much more than time spent with him. It was not as though they had much to discuss with each other.

But then, she hadn't said that it was his absence that she was feeling, it was the absence of everyone. There was something about being alone that frightened her and Lucius couldn't help but wonder what it was.

---------------------------

Hermione awoke to the sound of Lucius saying her name softly. She slowly became more aware of her surroundings and just how hot it was underneath such a large amount of bed covers. Groaning, she threw the quilts to the side, turning to see Lucius standing beside the bed. It didn't seem fair for her to be ill and have to deal with his presence as well. She could only imagine the mocking that would come soon.

"I take it you are no longer cold." He drawled. His voice held a tone of condescension and she bit back a retort, not wanting to start an argument when she knew she wouldn't be able to hold her own. She felt better, better then she had in days, but that didn't mean she felt good. Not at all.

"No, not really." Hermione said. Her voice came out scratchy. "Can I have some water?" she asked.

He moved closer to the bed, picking up a glass of water on the nightstand that she hadn't noticed before and handing it to her.

"Thank you." She said quietly, taking the glass from him. Her hands were shaky but she had managed to bring the glass to her lips without spilling anything. She was proud of herself for that.

"Your potion is on the nightstand." Lucius told her taking the glass from her and putting it back. "It has been some time since you last ate; you should eat something before you take it."

"O-okay." Hermione said.

"I have left some books for you the foot of the bed, should you find yourself interested in doing something other than lying about." Lucius said.

"Thank you." Hermione said softly. She was surprised that he had even thought of giving her something to do while she was forced to stay in bed.

"If you require any assistance with anything, call for Dippy or one of the other house-elves. That is why they are here. Now that you are awake and aware of your surroundings, I will be returning to my study. A house-elf will be up shortly with something light for you to eat."

He looked her down to make sure she understood everything he had just said before sweeping out of the room. Once she was sure he was gone, Hermione allowed herself to collapse back in bed. _Now that you are awake and aware of your surroundings. _Those few words had brought back flashes of fever induced conversations and actions. She distinctively remembered calling him pretty. That was going to keep her from sleeping that night. She hoped that he had the grace never to bring it up or at the very least not share it with Draco, but she doubted either would happen.

She also remembered telling him that she was lonely, though she didn't remember much after that. She could only imagine what else she had told him.

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Hermione hovered in the library doorway, feeling uneasy about her decision to seek Lucius out. She could see him clearly, sitting by the fire reading. After so many days of not speaking to each other, it seemed wrong to seek him out for conversation.

She saw his gaze flicker up from his book to her and Hermione forced herself to enter the room. She hoped he hadn't realized that she had been standing there for long.

He stood as she came closer, placing his book down on the table beside him. "I see you are feeling better."

"Yes, much better." Hermione said, moving so she was standing across from him. "I actually came to thank you. Dippy told me that you have a lot to with that. That you made sure I had the right potions and checked up on me. I appreciated that. I know I'm a terrible patient, so I'm sure it wasn't exactly easy for you."

"It was fine." Lucius said, "You behaved a little out of character at times because of the fever but once I found the proper motivation for you, getting you to take your potions was no trouble at all. One would think I would have been offering something much more appealing then healing potions."

"The proper motivation?" She repeated, her face flushing.

"Yes, the proper motivation." He said smirking at her. Feeling distinctively uncomfortable, Hermione found herself wanting to squirm under her gaze.

"About my out of character behavior…" Hermione began, "I'd like to apologize if I said anything offensive. I honestly remember very little about everything that happened, everything that I said."

"You said nothing unforgivable, Hermione." Lucius said, sitting back down.

"I…That's good to know." Hermione said quickly taking the seat across from him. One might think that being the one standing would be an advantage when dealing with Lucius, but it wasn't true. He was just as intimidating sitting down as he was towering over you.

"Everything's kind of muddled between the fever and the potions. Professor Snape certainly doesn't make weak potions, that's for sure." Hermione rambled. "I can't help….I was just wondering if I said anything worth mentioning."

"Worth mentioning?" Lucius repeated. There was an air of innocence in his voice that made her stomach clench. "You make it seem as though you have something to hide."

"No, no. I just… I remember bits and pieces and I don't want you to get the wrong idea about something I said." Hermione told him, looking down at her lap. "I'd…I'd actually like to talk about one of the things I remember saying."

Now that she had said that, it suddenly this seemed like a very bad idea to come find Lucius. Like maybe she should have just let sleeping dogs lie, he certainly seemed willing enough to do the same.

"What is it you'd like to discuss?" Lucius asked, his eyes narrowing in on her.

"I…I know that we are two very different people." Hermione started. It was now or never because if she left this room now, she would never be able to force herself to have this discussion again. "And this situation is hardly ideal for either one of us, but we're married. We have to spend those six years convincing the wizarding world that there was a reason other than the Minister behind our decision to marry. And if things keep continuing like they have these past weeks I don't know if I can do that."

Hermione paused, looking at him carefully. He didn't appear angry with her or what she had said; instead he wore an expression that made her think he was actually interested in what she had to say.

"I'm not suggesting compliments or small talk," Hermione continued, "Or anything of that sort. I don't think either of us would want that. I'd just like for us to…to find a way to work through this together. I am not used to your world and as much as it pains me to say it, I'm going to need help if I'm going to be able to become a part of it. If I'm just stumbling through it, it is going to reflect badly on all of us."

It was a Slytherin tactic, convincing him that helping her would help him. He didn't know whether to be surprised or impressed. She was back to appearing strong with just a touch of apprehension she usually had when in his presence. So very different from what he had seen just days before, begging him to stay with her. It intrigued him. She was so very different from the girl he remembered from Order meetings. So very different from the girl Draco had described as a child at Hogwarts. He wanted to know why. He wanted to know what had caused such a change.

"I quite agree with you, Hermione." Lucius said. "A partnership might be just what we need."

She was a mystery to him, a unique puzzle that he would enjoy solving immensely.

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_**A/N: I'm pretty sure that was my longest chapter ever. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed. You've all been incredibly nice and incredibly patient and I really do appreciate that. Big massive thanks to my beta Emma, you can all thank her for pretty much every grammatically correct sentence in this thing. She's absolutely great. **_

_**Just a note, I've been trying to keep you guys updated on my profile page, telling you what I'm working on and approximately when you guys should check for updates. So if you have questions look there, there might be an answer. **_

_**PLEASE REVIEW! I love to hear what you guys have to say. As always questions, suggestions and nice criticism are always welcome. You guys have great ideas, so keep them coming and you might see them in the story. **_


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